Return to Dawn
by fluffypuppies
Summary: Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were kidnapped and placed in a ship, trapped in for who knows how long. One night, the ship was attacked and blasted to pieces, separating the brothers. Now these brothers have to meet each other, no matter what. Even if they have to face so many dangers the sea offers just to be reunited. (A possible ASL & Law story maybe?)
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello! This is my first time to make a One Piece fanfic series so, uh, please be gentle? But some reviews and tips would be fine! (this is sort of a preview of what might be expected, but I'm currently trying to type down some chapters in advance so that I have some chapters prepared already.)**

_**Summary: Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were kidnapped and placed in a ship, trapped in for who knows how long. One night, the ship was attacked and blasted to pieces, separating the brothers. Now these brothers have to meet each other, no matter what. From a Yonko and their strong crew, to suspicious revolutionaries, and one strange child, nothing will stop them from reuniting and going back home. Even if they have to face so many dangers the sea offers just to be reunited.**_

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**Return to Dawn**

_**A One Piece fanfic**_

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**Prologue**

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An explosion lighted up the dark night in the middle of the sea, splinters of wood showering everywhere as the destruction of the ship happened. The mast made a huge cracking sound as it split into two, dropping to the water with a splash. The fire grew and _grew_ until the ship was like a humungous torch lighting up in the middle of the sea, and not one Sea King was brave enough to go near the fire, in fear of burning themselves.

Pieces of what used to be the ship floated around the burning wreckage, and if the stars had eyes, they would have to squint to spot out a little boy trying desperately to hold on a piece of wood that is the only thing from preventing him from being pulled down the dark depths that the ocean hid beneath it.

The boy felt weak. If anyone were around, they would see that it was already a great challenge to cling to the wood since something was causing the boy to feel too weak to hold on tightly with all his strength. He panted heavily, making little fogs coming out of his lips at the cold air despite the huge fire of the burning ship a distance away.

When the boy made that thought in his head, he hoisted himself up on the wood, just enough to not slip into the water, he turned his head to every direction.

_No, no, no_, the boy thought frantically. _It can't be . . . it CAN'T be!_

He recalled of those memories of being on a pirate ship where these said pirates took him and his brothers from their home island. They were trapped and held in the ship for what may be months or weeks, but he was not able to know for how long, due to them rarely being brought up to the deck of the ship, and were mostly held in a little room in the depths of the ship where there was no window and provided with not even a lamp to give them light.

After a long time – one of his brothers might have guessed they might have been in that ship for nearly two months, but he was not sure – spent in loneliness in the darkness with his brothers, there came another pirate ship that decided to raid the vessel they were held in. So it led to a battle between pirate crews, and the victor was determined when the raiding group killed the brothers' captors and burned down the ship. They didn't care about the brothers though, so when the boy and his brothers escaped the room, they were in time to see the raiding pirate group, with all the spoils they wanted from the ship, sail away from the fire.

The boys then tried to find a lifeboat to sail away in, but the fire separated them, and not long after that was the explosion that led to the situation now, with the youngest of the boys – all alone – trying to look around for any signs of his brothers nearby.

"ACE! SABO!" The boy cried out to the night, hoping his brothers would hear him. "ACE! SABO! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

He cried until his throat was sore, _desperately_ hoping he could find them. _Desperately_ hoping one or both of them would call back to him and reassure him that they're alright.

But no one called back to him.

The sounds of fire eating up the ship got louder and _louder_, almost sounding like it was _cackling_ at the boy, as if to tell him that he'll _never_ get to see them. Ever.

So hours passed by, and now the sun was starting to rise out from the horizon, like a child hiding under the table and finally deciding to let their head slowly rise up to see what's on the table. Wind started picking up, though slightly, but it gave a subtle hint that it will pick up more later on. The rays filled up the sky, replacing the shades of dark blue and black with the soft colors of pink and peach.

But as the sun rose, a kid – in the middle of the sea – continued crying out for his missing brothers.

"AAAACE! SABOOOOO!"

Only wind replied to his cries.

_Please, _He sobbed. _I don't want to be alone!_

Not a single reply called out to the lonely boy.

_"Being alone is worse than death!"_

The dawn approaches.

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**Return to Dawn**

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**A/N: There's the prologue! Like I mentioned, I want to type down some chapters in advance, but even if I do make them in advance before posting chapter one, I won't be posting all of it all at once since there might be possibilities of me deciding to change some details later on, so updates will be posted when I feel like it. (If not busy with college, maybe two chapters each month. But life is unpredictable so...)**

**Also, there are probably mistakes in the story so please don't mind and bear with it please! Editing happens after the story, and I've heard about the beta-reading thing about **_**fanfiction dot net**_** (a bit) but I don't know much about it **_**fully**_**, so . . . yeah, just know the bottom line is **_**editing is done after the story is finished **_**sorry! But I won't mind tips or help ^^**

**(Just gotta see if my friend would help me in the end to edit *nervous laughter*)**

**Anyways, to whoever is reading this, thanks so so SO much for giving it a try!**

**Until next time~**


	2. Chapter One : Waking Up to Pirates

**A/N: This is going to be a short A/N but here's the next update! Wow, this story gained some attention, now it's making me nervous… thank you guys for giving the story a try! I-I'll try my best… (*definitely not hiding behind a couch*)**

**More A/N is placed at the end of the chapter.**

**This time, we get a glimpse on Ace's part of the story…**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

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**1**

**Waking Up to Pirates**

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Marco was having a stressful morning.

Well, it was not supposed to be stressful, but it _had_ to be ruined just because one of his ship brothers _had_ to be the very cause of pestering him when he should be busy checking on his division.

And, of course, the name of that very brother of his was _Thatch._

"Dammit, Thatch, it's still too early for all this, yoi."

The man beside Marco gave a grin, mischief glinting in his eyes as usual.

"Aw, come on, Marco! It'll be funny to watch. Also, you _definitely_ need a break from work. I swear that at this rate you'll be a boring old man in no time," he hooked an arm over Marco's shoulders and gave a wink. "Have some fun, buddy!"

The blonde man rolled his eyes and removed his friend's arm off of him. "You mean slacking off, yoi? No thanks. There are paperwork to do and make sure everyone is doing their work." He specifically emphasized the last part as he looked at the chef.

Thatch just made a pout at that – and definitely not a cute one at all – then shrugged. "Fine, but at least stay by my side as I watch the results of this greatest scheme of mine yet! It's exciting to see how Izo would react to _it_ this time."

Marco scoffed, "Really, yoi? Or is the reason of why you want me to be by your side is just so that I can play as a _bodyguard_ and protect you from him?" Then he walked away, and Thatch's silence was confirmation enough.

_Maybe I'll go and head off to Pops and stick with him to ease this headache—_

His thoughts were distracted by a scream and wail combined together, and he turned around to see Izo running on the deck, covering his face. Not too far from Marco, he could see Thatch trying to hold back his laughter. Unfortunately, Izo heard Thatch and whipped his head to his direction, the deadliest glare on his face – and Marco couldn't figure out how Izo even heard Thatch from such a far distance when he was literally at the _other_ side of the ship from where they are on.

Even if the anger wasn't direct to the first commander, Marco still felt chills when he watched Izo stomp his way towards his mischievous, prank-loving ship brother. His sisters and brothers make way for Izo, scared to even be near the cross-dressing man.

"THATCH! YOU BASTARD!"

Now that he was near enough, Marco could see Izo was soaking wet with what seemed to be water and glitter, as if the sparkly liquid was splashed above him, and that resulted to makeup running down his face. It made him look like some creepy ghost, or something. Izo hissed at Thatch and Marco could see the fire in his eyes. VERY dangerous fire.

"How DARE you ruin my makeup, Thatch! And what is this? Glitter?! Just wait 'till I get my hands on you—!"

"A-At least you look sparkly!" Thatch yelped, but that just added to the flames as Izo gave an even darker glare. The ruined makeup just added the effect to how scary he was at the moment.

Thatch made an _eep!_ sound and started running. Izo already after him.

"COME BACK HERE SO THAT I CAN KILL YOU!"

And just like that, both of them started running in circles around a mast, with the same mast the only thing that was protecting Thatch from Izo. Watching them made Marco sigh in exasperation since it felt like two kids being really rowdy and energetic too early in the morning.

_I need to calm down . . ._

Not wanting more of this nonsense, he strode off to the nearby railings and watched the sun finally lifting up from the horizon with eyes closed, the sky turning from sunrise pink to soft color blue. Marco sighed, enjoying the serene scene presented in front of him. As much as he loved his brothers and sisters, he wishes for some peace now and then – but, of course, he would _never_ trade his siblings for anything in the world.

Ever since he was placed under Whitebeard's care and joining his crew – _family_ – everyday had been an exciting thing to face as soon as the sun rises, indicating the start of a new day with his dear ones.

_And it feels like there will be more surprises to come in the near future,_ he thought as he slowly opened his eyes with a smile. _Now, I believe it's time to go back to work—_

It was at that moment that something caught his eye on the waters below him. He turned his head down to check out on what it was, and his eyes widened by a fraction. He was about to shout out a command, or anything, for everyone to take notice of what was floating on the water, but he heard someone else already crying out their observation out to the crew on the lonely figure floating on the sea below.

"THERE'S A CHILD ON THE WATER!"

With those words, almost everyone on deck rushed over to the side of the boat, all eyes on the small figure. Marco may not be a telepath, but he could imagine the unspoken questions in everyone's minds—

_What was a kid doing there? What happened? Is he still alive?_

Marco started giving orders that they bring the kid to the ship, to which he saw Namur already diving down to retrieve the child.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_"Luffy! Luffy, where are you?"_

_ Ace and Sabo ran over tree roots and through bushes as they searched high and low for their youngest brother, quite relieved when the animals that usually fight them decided they're not worth their time – at least it's not necessary to worry about being sidetracked to fight the animals before finding their brother._

_ How did it lead to this? How did it lead to a missing Luffy once they took notice that the strawhat boy was not by their side? Well, it all started when Luffy went off earlier to "adventure" and his older brothers told him to not go off "adventuring" yet when he could get lost easily without either of them by his side. Sabo suggested that he'd be a better choice than Ace, since Luffy would rather someone who could tolerate him than someone who would find every excuse to argue with the little boy and hit his head when he says something stupid. Hearing that, Ace tried to argue with the blonde that he's not _that_ evil to his little brother. So the two continued their debate on who's the better brother to Luffy, to the point that when they finally cared to look at their side to ask for Luffy's opinion, they then notice the absence of the little boy. So it led to the present time where they were searching everywhere for their brother._

_ "Luffy!" Sabo called out as he jumps over a small ledge and avoids landing on a thorny bush. "Luffy! Come back!"_

_ "Meat!" Ace shout out at the top of his lungs. "Meat! Delicious, juicy meat!"_

_ "Do you think that will work?" Sabo asked as he swats a low branch away from him using his pipe._

_ Ace shrugged even as he ran. "It might be effective for all we know. After all, he does love meat too damn much it's like the world revolves around it!"_

_ As if to prove his point, a blur of red zoomed from the thick area of trees and to Ace. When the older brother looked down to see Luffy squeezing his arms around his chest with a bone-crushing hug, and the little boy's face looked up to him with eyes sparkling with joy and drool escaping his lips._

_ "MEAT! WHERE'S THE MEAT?!"_

_ Upon hearing that, Ace smirked and glances at Sabo._

_ "See? Just like summoning a demon from the depths of hell!"_

_ Sabo rolled his eyes, but laughed a bit at that, causing Ace to laugh as well. The two brothers' behavior confused Luffy, who was still expecting his meat._

_ "So," Sabo asked after his laughing fit. "Where were you, Luffy? Did you have a great adventure out there?"_

_ Luffy made a big grin that filled up almost his whole face. "It was great! Shishishi! Oh, and I also saw this ship passing by. It looked like it's heading towards the direction of Foosha village, I think!"_

_ Ace and Sabo exchanged a look with each other before Ace asked, "Were they pirates?"_

_ At that, Luffy made a thoughtful look, but thinking too much about it made his face slowly turn red._

_ "Maybe? They had a jolly roger that looked weird and boring," Luffy stuck out his tongue at the last word._

_ Again, Ace and Sabo exchanged a look and Sabo nodded to Luffy, walking up to his brother and patted his shoulder, "Alright, Lu. Why don't you lead us to where you saw this ship, okay?"_

_ And so they're off to follow Luffy, trying their best to keep up with their energetic brother's pace. Once they broke out of the line of trees, they found themselves on a cliffside that was facing the ocean. Luffy stood over the edge, making Ace scold him to not stand there unless the little brother wanted to go diving into the ocean and the sharp rocks below. So while the oldest of the brothers pulled Luffy back to have a safe distance from the edge, they tried to look at the direction Luffy was pointing at. When they finally focused on the object in the distance, they saw a ship that was on its way to where they believe was the direction the ports of Foosha village should be in._

_ They couldn't see clearly what was the print on the flag that was on the ship from a far distance, but they were able to guess that it was a pirate ship and not a marine vessel since there was an obvious black flag with the usual skull. _

_ Luffy turned to his brothers with wide eyes. "Do you think they'd be like Shanks?"_

_The two brothers heard stories from the youngest about the great pirate Red Hair Shanks, as well as many praises for the man and the big promise that the two shared about the day when Luffy returns the hat to Shanks once he proved himself to be a great pirate. _

_Though they were hoping the pirates coming to their island would be someone similar to Shanks, they have a bad feeling about this ship._

_ "We can't tell yet, Lu," Ace muttered and made eye contact to both of his brothers. "We should try stopping by Foosha village, maybe. Let's just hope they don't end up like Bluejam."_

_ The two brothers nodded their heads in understanding, remembering how a month ago Bluejam and his crew took away Sabo and gave him to his dad. It led to events that they were not fond of remembering – especially the fire. That very memory was horrible for both Ace and Luffy. Sabo was not there when the fire lit up Grey Terminal, but he was so panicked when he thought his brothers would never escape the fire. Though the next day, he was glad that he somehow bumped to Ace. The brothers were then overjoyed to be reunited again and went back to living in their tree house and messing with Dadan and the bandits. But there are those times where the memory of Bluejam and the fire in Grey Terminal will haunt in their minds._

_They shrugged off the memories from their minds, not wanting to remember them at the moment. With that, all three of them started sprinting towards Foosha village._

_ Ace eyed his brothers as they ran, and a feeling of overprotectiveness surges in his heart then spread through his entire body. Ace is the eldest among the three, even if Sabo might be more mentally mature than Ace._

I'm the eldest, _he thought._ I will protect them.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

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Ace woke up to muffled voices surrounding him, with nothing in his vision but darkness. At first, a wave of panic led him to a little heart-attack from the confusion of why things were dark, but he then he's struck with a realization that his eyes were closed, so he slowly made them flutter open. So used to the darkness, he instantly regretted opening his eyes when light blinded him for a moment.

"Hey, I think the kid is waking up!"

He heard a voice to his side, so he tried to make his eyes be familiar with the light and slowly opened his eyes all the more. When his eyes finally focused, he then noticed a bunch of unfamiliar faces crowding around him.

"Hey, kid," one of them asked, concern tinged in their tone. "You okay?"

"Oi, give the kid some space," a lazy voice said somewhere nearby.

When Ace finally realized the strangers were flocking around him, he quickly jumped up to his feet. He gave a roar that immediately made everyone nearby him back off, seeing that Ace was starting to make a fighting stance, ready to pounce on anyone who dares to come any closer to him. Many of them started speaking all at once.

"Look, kid, we mean you no harm!"

"We're not gonna hurt you, boy!"

"Easy there, tiger."

Ace didn't listen to any word they said and continued to snarl at every one of them, "Where am I? What happened? _Where are my brothers?!"_ The last part was said in a growl, which – to his satisfaction – some of them flinched in fright when they heard it. Some had looks of surprise, probably surprised that a mere kid could even look _that_ threatening.

Before anything else could escalate into, maybe, a _fight_, one man from the crowd stepped forward and slowly walked closer to Ace. This particular man looked weird, what with his blonde hair on his head that oddly made him look like some kind of fruit – a pineapple, maybe – and had this lazy look in his eyes, but if Ace looked closely, he could notice details of a strong man that makes him feel like he should never let his guard on.

"No need to worry, brat," the man said – even his voice sounded laidback like his face. "No one is going to hurt you, yoi."

"Don't make me repeat it again," Ace spat out, disregarding the man's words. "Where am I? What happened? Where. Are. My. _Brothers!?"_

With patience of probably a saint, the man attempted to speak in a soothing voice, "Calm down, yoi. You are currently aboard the Moby Dick – which means you are now on the ship of the Whitebeard pirates. My name is Marco, the first division commander and first mate here. Now I assure you that you do not need to panic and know we are not here to harm you, yoi."

_Shit!_ Ace cussed quietly to himself.

He's on the Moby Dick? With the Whitebeard pirates? _Whitebeard?!_ Ace internally groaned, thinking about how he might have the _worst_ luck in the entire world. If he recalled right, _Whitebeard_ is from the same generation of his bastard of a father. Include the very fact that Whitebeard was also rivals with his father. He swore to himself that he'll never try to interact with any of the Whitebeards unless he has a death wish. But, _alas_, now he's here – on his father's _rival's_ ship. Great. _Just_ great.

He shoved off all thoughts that were bombarding into his head, then he turned to look at the pineapple-head man straight into his eyes, listening to what the man had to say next.

"As for what happened . . . well, we don't know the whole story, yoi, but we can say that the ship you were probably on previously might have burned down, judging on some of the floating wood on the waters below which have evidence of being burned long ago. The ship was wrecked so much that nothing is left but just pieces of wood left on the water, again with bits of evidences on the water there. As for your brothers . . . I'm sorry, but none of us found any other bodies on the sea but yours, yoi. When we spotted you out floating on that drifting piece of wood, we took you in and tried to look around to find any other survivors. There were none, so far."

There was silence between them, and Ace couldn't move. Letting those words sink in to his mind, he felt despair slowly sinking in to his heart.

Ace felt a lump stuck in his throat, and possibly a sob that was threatening to escape. He raised up his hands up to either side of his head as he grabbed the locks of his hair and pulled at them.

"No . . ."

He felt the pirates around him gaze at him in pity. Ace hated it. He doesn't want to be _pitied_ on.

"No!"

_Luffy . . . Sabo . . ._

"NO!"

It happened so fast, the pirates barely shouted for him to stop when they watched in horror of Ace running towards the side of the ship and would have jumped off to the cold depths of the water, in hopes of finding his missing brothers, but the man – Marco, he introduced earlier – was quick to move and was there on time to place an arm around Ace's waist, refraining him from jumping.

"STOP IT! LET GO OF ME!" Ace shouted as he struggled in Marco's grasp. "THEY COULD STILL BE OUT THERE! I HAVE TO FIND THEM! LUFFY CAN'T EVEN SWIM, AND SABO—"

"Brat, please calm down," Marco demanded, but had some gentleness to his words. "We already checked, yoi. There's no one there. We sent one of us, a fishman, to go check just in case, but he found no one. Now don't go doing anything foolish—hey!"

Ace interrupted him when he chomped down his teeth on Marco's hand, but the man didn't lose his grip on the boy, which made Ace struggle more and growled at him. He kept thrashing around, kicking, punching, and biting on Marco – and was it just him, or did he see small blue flames dancing around the man's skin whenever he bit too hard on that very area? But Ace didn't care.

No one separates him from his brothers.

"NO! You could have missed them! YOU COULD HAVE MISSED THEM! They could still be down there! I need to go find them! I need to—"

Ace didn't mean to do it, but he somehow was able to slip out of Marco's arms just a bit, but ended up moving too much that he found himself moving down and hitting his head on the railings with a big bump that everyone _definitely_ heard, making all of them flinch at the sound.

"Shit!" Ace heard Marco swear as he tried to ask Ace some questions, but the boy was slowly falling unconscious, darkness appearing at the corner of his eyes.

Before he submitted himself to his mind to be in the land of dreams, he reached out his hand to the sea.

_Luffy . . . Sabo . . . I'm sorry . . ._

_ "I'm the eldest," _he recalled in his memories. _"I will protect them."_

He couldn't even protect his own brothers.

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**Return to Dawn**

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**I was planning to post this by the end of the month to give some rest period before posting the first chapter, but I realized there's barely much in the prologue. SO, I decided to just post this in advance so that you get something to start with, rather than only receiving that tiny bit of a prologue. Also, since I'm still working on the other chapters in advance, the next chapter will be scheduled for next month. (I'll be busy with projects for college for the next dayssss.) Maybe around the third week of September will be the time I post chapter two. (Still trying to figure out what to draw for the cover image for this story!)**

**Also, if I made any mistakes, please send me a message and I'll try to fix it if I can!**

**Anyways, thanks to whoever is reading this! And thanks for the **_**follows**_** and **_**favorites**_**.**

**Next Chapter: **_**Rescued by Hooded Figures **_


	3. Chapter Two : Rescued by Hooded Figures

**A/N: Now… it's time to know what happened to Sabo! Also, I don't know too much about the Revolutionaries and actually more familiar and comfortable on information about the pirates in One Piece, so I want to apologize any mistakes I make about the Revolutionaries in the future chapters! But I do hope you enjoy the story nonetheless, you wonderful readers!**

**More A/N in the bottom. It explains why I posted earlier than my promised deadline.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece**

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**2**

**Rescued by Hooded Figures**

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_"You'll be brought back to your father, and maybe I'd get an extra tip if that makes him glad enough that I brought you to him, so you better not think of any funny ideas, kid."_

_ The boy found himself frowning at the mention of his father, though he just couldn't figure out why hearing about his father leaves a bad taste to his mouth. But he couldn't worry about that right now. There were bigger issues in mind. He had questions – questions like . . ._

_ Who was he?_

_ Where was he?_

_ What's his name?_

_ He tried to search deep in his mind of any memory of what might have happened to make him lose his memory, but he came up with nothing. So he tried to look around to check if his surroundings would jog up any memory buried in his brain. The people around were all dressed in suit and dresses of such flamboyant and sophisticated fashion that puts up an obvious sign that they're all people of high class. Something about that made the boy frown as well. For some reason._

_ Asides from being troubled of his lack of memories, he figured out by now that this was probably a dream. His guess about what he might be dreaming at the moment might be a memory of his. A memory of _what_, he was not sure. But at least it was a memory, so he could be glad for that._

_ "STOP THAT THIEF!"_

_ His focus then shifted to what was in front of him. He watched two officers running after a boy about his age (wait, what _was _his age?) who was desperately hugging some stuff in his arms. His eyes tried to look closer at the boy's face, but found it blurry, so he gave up on it. He was thinking of turning back his eyes to look at his surroundings, but a sudden feeling of overwhelming joy filled him up with no known reason, and his mouth started moving without thinking._

_ "ACE!"_

_ The boy's eyes turned to his direction and he watched as the boy's eyes widen, as if he knew him._

_ "What the – Sabo?!"_

Sabo? _He thought. _Is that my name?

_ He brushed off those thoughts. He'd have to figure that out later. As for the name the boy called him with, he decided to accept being called as Sabo for now until he can figure out his name._

_ Like earlier, his body started moving according to the memory rather than his current thoughts. His eyes flickered to the man beside Sabo, then to the boy named Ace, sending him a wordless message. Ace nodded, getting whatever was the message Sabo was trying to give him._

_ Sabo, with the pipe in his hand – which he still had no memory of how he got it in the first place – then immediately whacked the man on their groin, causing the man to yelp in pain. Sabo hissed as well, just imagining what it would feel if he were struck at that spot as well. Before the man could recover from the immense pain of probably no chances of ever making babies with any woman in the future, Ace leapt then finished him off with a flying kick to the face. Sabo almost felt sorry for the man._

_Once the man fell to the ground with a big _THUD! _the two officers_ _were almost near the two children, shouting out to them to stay still and surrender themselves to them. With that, both he and Ace started running to wherever Ace was leading them._

"_Good to see that you survived the fire, Ace!" Sabo found himself saying as he ran. "But may I ask what are you doing here? And where's Luffy? Is he alright?"_

Luffy? Who's Luffy? _He thought. The name sounded familiar when he said it but he still couldn't pull out any memory hidden in his mind's depths. Damn his unknown amnesia._

"_Yeah, he is," Ace panted, sounding almost out of breath, but still kept his pace. "He is with the bandits right now. But I'm worried about Dadan—"_

"_So is that what those medical supplies are for?" He pointed to the things Ace was carrying in his arms, being extra careful to not drop any of them._

"_Yes. She's injured from the battle we had with Bluejam and when she helped me escape through the fire. So we must hurry to treat her!"_

_Sabo nodded, serious. "Alright."_

_ The dream then made the colors start shifting to different places, and now he was in some kind of forest, with Ace standing beside him as both of them tried to help carry this huge woman wrapped in bandages. He tried to focus his eyes on their faces, but they seemed blurry and did nothing for him to try to see what they looked like._

_Why was his mind refusing to let him remember their faces anyway?_

"_SABOOOOO! AAAAACE! DADAAAAAN!"_

_A little boy cried out as he ran out of the house that the three of them were walking towards to with Sabo and Ace struggling to drag the injured woman, whom Sabo was going to guess she was the Dadan woman that Ace mentioned in the first part of the dream._

_Sabo started worrying if the kid would suddenly jump on them, and it won't look pretty if that happens and make them drop the heavy weight on both Ace's and Sabo's shoulders, then crush them with it, but he heaved a sigh of relief when the little boy stopped a few steps away from them and just cried with big, fat tears rolling down his cheeks._

_Few others exited the house and walked up to them, exclaiming that they were so happy to see them all, doing Ace and Sabo a favor when they took Dadan from them, and relieving both boys once they have nothing heavy to carry. Sabo collapsed to the ground in exhaustion and Ace just stood there, but hunched over as he rested his hands on his knees, taking a deep breath. But before they could rest, the little boy took that opportunity to jump on them and hug both boys in his tight hug – and was it just Sabo or was he just imagining stuff when he thought the little boy's skin felt . . . rubbery._

"_SABOOOOO! AAAAACE! YOU'RE OKAY!"_

_Sabo heard Ace made a _tch_ sound as he pulled away from the hug and hit the boy on the head, causing the little boy to cry out in pain._

"_O-OWWW! THAT HURT, MEANIE ACE!"_

"_SHUT UP! And do you really think I'd die from a fight anyways?!" Ace scolded the boy with a harsh tone, but Sabo swore he heard a tad bit of fondness in his voice directed to the crying little boy. "After all, who would watch over a weak crybaby like you? You won't be able to survive that long."_

"_I-I'm not weak! And stop calling me a crybaby!" The boy then turned to Sabo with that ugly crying face, though – like Ace – his face was blurry in Sabo's vision as well. "S-Sabo! Ace is being mean!"_

_Sabo sighs, exasperated, but something about this feels so . . . familiar . . . and nostalgic._

_Before he could say something to maybe stop the two from arguing, he felt the same rubbery arms wrap around him and Ace, trapping them back in its tight embrace. Ace was going to complain again, but stopped when the little boy buried his face to Sabo and Ace's shoulders, his tears running down their arms._

"_B-But . . . even if Ace hurts me . . . even if Sabo left us . . ."_

_He then looked up at them with those teary eyes._

"_I MISS MY BROTHERS SO MUCH!"_

_Something slammed real hard on Sabo's heart upon hearing that, and he would love to try figuring out what it was but he stopped when he saw that Ace had the same expression he was making too. The little boy then put back his face on their shoulders._

"_P-Please don't ever leave me . . . I don't wanna be alone . . ."_

_Sabo didn't know what to say, and found little comfort to see Ace was the same with him as well. The three just stayed there, sitting on the ground as the youngest of the three sobbed against them, holding on to them as if he was afraid they'd disappear from him if he does not hold on to them tight enough. The others and the injured woman were nowhere to be found and were probably in the house, maybe to provide the three boys with the needed privacy. _

_It felt like hours dragged on as they all sat there in silence, but Ace finally fidgeted a bit before bringing his arms to wrap the little boy and Sabo closer to him, having an unreadable expression, but if one were to look closely, they could see warmth in those dark silver eyes._

"_Don't worry, Lu. We'll never leave you. We promise."_

_This caused the little boy to sob louder than before, but it sounded more happy than sad._

_Sabo smiled at this as he also joined in the hug around the crying little boy. A feeling – love? – filled his chest as he looked at the two boys. It felt . . . nice. It was like how one would feel when they come back home to their family after a tiring day._

They _do_ feel familiar, _Sabo thought_. I just wish I could remember—

_ Then, instantly, a darkness consumed everything around them, swallowing every tree and plant until there was nothing left behind. When all of their surroundings were gone, it was replaced with fire all around them._

_ Sabo looked around, an expression of horror etched on his face, "Wh-What—"_

_ "SABO!"_

_ "SABO! HELP US!"_

_ He turned to look for the other two boys but found out they weren't by his side anymore. Now that he thought of it, the voices sounded like it was coming from the area where there were huge waves of fire._

_ Before he could run over to the flames – he can't worry right now about how scorching hot it is! – he found himself being swallowed up by the ground, making him fall into the never-ending void, hearing the cries of the two boys fade from the distance . . ._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Dragon needed some fresh air, so Iva should understand if he suddenly disappeared for a while to calm his stressed mind by strolling around the town of the small island they are in. They stopped by the island they're currently staying on due to them needing to restock on their supplies as they will take a two-day trip back to their base.

The island was small compared to other islands in the area, but they were relieved that they were docked to an island that had civilization despite how small the town was. So they found two inns for all of them to stay in. Since the inn was little in size like its town, one half of the group had to stay in a different inn from the others. There are times the choice of separation from others would make them weak and be made easily as prey to their enemies, but the advantage would be that if one group were to be in trouble, the other that wasn't caught could help from the outside to save their captured comrades. Though to be cautious and avoid such a scenario, Dragon made sure to remind all of them to never let their guard down and look out for each other.

Asides from that, Dragon preferred having the company of less people rather than overcrowding himself with too many all in one place, even if he should get used to big crowds by now especially when using the crowds to blend in or escape the enemies.

During his walk down the streets of the little town, he passed by a little boy who ran up to his father. The kid whined about being tired, and the father being caring to his loving son picked him up and placed him on his shoulders. Dragon watched as the father chuckled and the boy break into a small fit of giggles while riding.

Watching the bonding moment of father and son made him think about his own son – even if he never got to meet his son face-to-face.

He did not regret his decision. Sure, there were those times he wished to meet his son that his wife put effort to be let born to this world, but there's nothing he can do. He was a wanted man, and he rather he let his son be safe and free by never meeting him than letting the world scorn him just because he shared the same blood with Dragon.

_Garp, you better make sure he is growing fine,_ he silently thought as he passed by the father and son. Knowing his own father, he could already imagine Garp beating the ever-loving crap out of his son to force his ideals in his head and "training" him to be a marine. Dragon gave a slight frown, remembering _his_ time with his own father. To avoid memories of his crazy parent, he shrugged off the memories and walked over to the docks.

Dragon was planning on standing by the docks and letting the sea breeze do its magic and soothe him in ways he did not understand – even if it was a bit stormy tonight and the wind was a tad bit stronger – but before he could do just that, his eyes then caught sight of something washed up to the shore. Since it was night time, it was too dark to distinguish features and looked no more than a dark lump on the sand. Waves lightly washed over him then retracting back to the ocean to where it belonged.

It could be some loot that used to belong on a ship that got wrecked at sea. Or someone dumped whatever they owned to the waters in hopes of getting rid of it.

He was deciding whether or not to check the lump out when lightning struck the sky for a second, illuminating everything and revealing what the lump was, and it definitely was not a _something_ but actually a _someone_.

_A castaway?_ The man wondered to himself as he started brisk-walking his way to the small form that made him guess must be a child. When he reached the person, he could tell that he was right at his guess of the figure being a child as he stared down at a boy with scorch marks marking his clothes, making Dragon wonder whether the ship the boy came from caught on fire.

As gently as he could, he knelt down and scooped him up into his arms, and when he was near enough Dragon felt his eyes widen slightly, but not much.

_"This town smells worse than Gray Terminal," little hands, sweaty but with a firm strength, grabbed for his cloak. _

This boy . . .

_"If I stay here, I'll never be free!" The kid in front of him cried, not minding the snot and the big fat tears rolling down his cheeks. "I'm ashamed of being born a noble!"_

The very boy who declared those words was the same boy that Dragon was holding in his arms at that very moment. Now that he got a good look, he could see that there was a nasty burn at the left side of his face, and not only that but a portion of the left side of his body was burned with the burned clothes revealing the burns.

It definitely looked serious.

Quickly, he headed off to the direction of the inn he was staying in, hoping their medic was still awake.

Sure enough, when he reached to the inn and knocked on the door where he recalled where Iva and the medic would sleep in, the door opened quietly to reveal the two of them, still wearing their cloaks as if they never bothered taking them off ever since reaching the inn.

Iva was questioning Dragon on what was wrong when Dragon pulled back his cloak to reveal the burned boy in his arms that was hidden underneath the cloth. The medic then understood what Dragon wanted and immediately, but gently as she can, grabbed for the boy and rush in to the room to look her medical supplies.

Later on, she was hovering over the boy as she did her best to treat him and keeping him alive. While she worked, Dragon sat by the other side of the bed the kid was on, and he might have imagined it but what surprised him a bit was when he heard the boy mumble a few words in his sleep.

"Luffy . . . Ace . . . no . . ."

_Luffy?_ Dragon wondered. _Luffy . . . does he know Luffy?_

How did this boy know Luffy?

There were questions Dragon wanted to know, but decided they could be answered when the boy wakes up, so he decided to shelve those thoughts for later and help with whatever the medic needed assistance on.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_ There, somewhere in his dreams, were some memories. Answers to his past._

_ "I will become a pirate, defeat everyone in my way, and become known across the whole world!"_

_ "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"_

_ "With this, starting today, we're brothers!" _

_But like the leaves in the fall season, they fell and were carried away by the wind before he could reach out for them._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Somewhere on an island where not many travel to, in order to explore and tell stories about, clouds gather to that very place, as if it was a magnet that attracted the clouds from nearby the area. It looked as if there was a slight chance of an upcoming thunderstorm, so all sea creature near the area steer away from that island.

There on the oddly-colored sands of the place, a lone boy laid face-down on the said sands of the beach. His clothes gave evidences of being burnt a bit some time ago.

If one were to pass by him, some might think he was probably dead, but if they leaned closely, they could hear the audible snore the boy gave.

The clouds continue to gather, sending a bit of wind to the island, cooling the sleeping boy and blowing on the strawhat that had its string around the little boy's neck.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: I know I said I'd post chapter two by next month, but then I felt kind of happy by you all who read the story, as well as the support I got from a few of my friends. And since we're still in the "Introduction Chapters" still, I guess posting one chapter before my supposed deadline for it won't hurt much. But do know that this won't happen much! I'm sticking to the deadlines from now on, unless it's special or something. (Next chapter is the last **_**Introduction Chapter**_** I guess, and also where we get to know what happened to Luffy.)**

**Anyways, for the first part of the chapter where Ace bumped to Sabo, this is my way on altering the story a bit (since I need Sabo "alive" anyway) I made sure that he never got to set sail and get shot by the Celestial Dragons later on. (Spoiler alert, yeah I know Sabo never died in the story, but I need something that will help me lead to what I'm aiming for in the story as well.) I'm not sure if this showed in the manga (and to think I read the manga first) but there was a scene I saw when I was checking out what the ASL part of the story looks like in the anime. It was when Ace and Dadan were hiding somewhere in the forest as they are still healing from their wounds and burns from fighting Bluejam. Ace went to the city to steal some stuff that will help him treat Dadan. It was a small scene of him in the city, but it did give me an idea for this story anyways. So in this story, I thought "What if when that guard who caught Sabo was bringing him back to his father, Sabo ended up bumping into Ace while he was stealing some stuff?" Then this was born!**

**I hope I didn't get anything else wrong but here you go! If I missed out something, please do help point it out so that I know what to do to fix it.**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**Guest: **_**Thanks for reading the story! And yes here's chapter two.**_

**Thanks for reading, and until next time!~**

**Next Chapter: **_**The Boy and the Tiger**_


	4. Chapter Three : The Boy and the Tiger

**A/N: With Ace and Sabo down, next we have up in the list is Luffy! Time to see what happened to that lovable rubber boy!**

**I finally decided what my posting schedule for this story is! So expect one chapter each month if I'm really busy, but if I'm not then more chances of two updates in each month! Also, I'm supposed to post this chapter on my chosen schedule of the first week of September but I'll be busy that time so here is a few-days-early update. (Sorry for any mistakes as I'm so sleepy right now…)**

**More A/N below!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece**

* * *

**3**

**The Boy and the Tiger**

* * *

He had a meat dream.

Yes. He had one of the meatiest dream he ever had in his life.

In the dream, there was a world of meat that consisted of meat people. There were three types of meat people in the world. There were the Meat Citizens who live however they want on the Meatlands. Then there were the Meat Pirates who sail through the Meat Sea to be free and experience meaty adventures. Lastly, there were the Meat Marines who look after the Meat Citizens and capture the Meat Pirates to bring justice to this world.

The one who sailed through those very seas was the great Meat Pirate, Monkey D Luffy, who swore he will become the Meat King and find _One Meat_.

After trials he faced with his strong Meat crew, years and years he's been getting stronger and stronger to finally achieve his dream of finding _One Meat_.

And that day finally came.

But as he was about to open the treasure chest where One Meat was known to be held in, a darkness consumed him and his crew, and Luffy watched in horror as the chest of the _One Meat_ was also swallowed by the darkness.

So Luffy woke up screaming for his treasure, but when he looked around he saw that he was not in the wonderful world of Meat, but on an island he's not familiar of.

Glancing around, he found out that he was washed up to the shores of a strange island where the trees had a mix of light blue leaves and pink leaves, with what seemed to be six-petal flowers growing from the colorful trees showing off their navy blue color against the soft color of the leaves, making them stand out with their dark color. The grass around the trees looked normal at least, with bright-colored flowers of many colors growing everywhere. When he looked down, Luffy saw that even the sand by the shore didn't look normal. It was white sand, but there seemed to be light blue particles as well, as if the sand could come in two colors.

What a weird island. Wonder what made it this way?

Luffy grins. _It's a mystery island!_

And when there's a mystery island . . .

"Time for adventure! Shishishi!" Luffy got up and brushed the sand off of his knees, clothes, then his hands. After dusting the weird sand away, his thoughts wandered off to his brothers.

He turned to look at the sea behind him, sea breeze brushing his face, making his dark hair fly around in a little dance.

"Ace . . . Sabo . . ." The boy mumbled, corners of his lips falling down and recalling what happened. He remembered just crying out for his brothers as the ship burned down, as well as struggling to not fall over the drifting piece of wood that saved him, a Devil Fruit user, from drowning. He kept shouting for his brothers until his voice cracked and his throat turned sore, and eventually passed out from possibly exhaustion caused by the turn of events and maybe the sea water as well. So when he woke up, he found himself _not_ with his brothers but on a strange island, with possibly no one else but him on it . . .

Alone.

Luffy wrapped his arms around him, attempting to hug himself, the cool wind not being the cause for that very action.

He missed his brothers.

That very moment, he then heard a growl. He placed a hand on his stomach, the boy staring at the hungry beast inside him.

"I'm hungry," he moaned.

Before any other thoughts, and maybe plans of catching any animal he could find on the island, another growl echoed from within the forest. And it definitely didn't sound like it came from him.

Luffy turned around to come face-to-face with a pink and blue tiger-like creature, baring its fangs at Luffy with a hungry glint in its eyes. Luffy stilled, staring at the beast.

"Oh."

Apparently he's not the only hungry beast here.

With that, Luffy screamed as he ran as fast as he could from the hungry tiger-creature.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Law hated surprises. When one person starts getting used to their daily routine that they had no choice but to adapt to, it should be sensible that they wouldn't want something _new, _which then will end up adding to the ever-growing pile of the things they need to worry about. So when that something _new_ happened to Law's sad and miserable life, he just knew then and there that he had have enough of this world.

He remembered of the days that he had to be on the run after Corazon's death, and at the same time, avoid from gaining attention as he hid away, in hopes that he won't be found out by a possible spy from Doflamingo – the man he still to this day despised today, and the man who _murdered_ Cora-san.

Currently, he was _still_ on the run. He decided that he will gather a crew, but that will happen in the near future when he's older and with enough experience both with sailing the seas and with the _Ope Ope no Mi's_ abilities – the very Devil Fruit _he _worked hard to get for Law.

He shook away those thoughts. Now was not a good time to throw himself to the same rabbit hole of guilt and sadness. What he needed to focus at the moment is to see what kind of island he landed on, and how to survive on it until he could find a way to the next island.

Of course, even in this bad scenario of being stuck on an unknown island, the world must have hated him since they added one more thing to his problems.

"HELP MEEEEEE!"

Law turned around and saw at that very moment a little boy – his guess was that he was eight years old – burst out from the bushes with one of the weirdly colored tigers of this island chasing after him. The boy's eyes landed on Law and had the emotions of relief and joy fill in his wide eyes. He then ran towards Law and quickly hid behind him, tugging at the ragged cloak Law wore around him. Law raised an eyebrow at the kid before turning his eyes back at the threat that _now_ noticed his presence – not hard for the animal to ignore Law anyway, since the creature's original target was now hiding behind him. This made the teen groan in annoyance.

Oh well, at least this may be counted as additional practice to play around with his Devil Fruit powers.

He quickly grabbed for his _Nodachi_that was by the rock he was sitting on earlier before the disturbance, then he raised up his hand, _"Room."_

As practiced, a blue filter started to cover around them, but since he was not mastered with how far he could improve his powers, the size of the filter was just only enough to cover around the two boys and the tiger. It's not much, but it's enough for now for the current situation.

Right when the tiger pounced, Law was ready.

He slashed with his sword.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

For sure, Luffy thought he was going to die. He remembered scenarios as similar as this one back home in Dawn Island, but the difference was that the Tiger Lord was _definitely_ bigger than the pink tiger-creature here, and it was Sabo and Ace who protected him rather than a strange boy. Though the Tiger Lord and the creature are different in size, the latter seemed like it was strong enough to almost be as strong as the Tiger Lord back home.

When all was about to end without Luffy ever having the chance to meet his brothers, as he'll be in his grave by the time they come for him, the most bizarre but _coolest_ thing ever happened, and he was so grateful that he did not have his eyes closed shut when it did happen.

The moment the strange boy slashed his sword at the tiger-creature, the beast was then cut into half. The body was cleanly cut into two parts, and no blood spilled on the ground. But other than those details, what made Luffy have stars in his eyes that very moment was when the two parts started moving, looking like it never felt the pain of being sliced into half and is struggling to get up when it was missing the _other_ half of the body.

"AWESOME!" Luffy shouted as he faced the boy – he secretly decided he wanted to be friends with the boy.

The boy in front of him scoffed and rested his sword-thingy on his shoulder. He just stared at the struggling beast. "From the appearance of that creature, you must have so much bad luck to gain the attention of the island's Conductor Tiger," he was silent for a while, contemplating something, before he spoke up again. "Ah, well, maybe you do have some luck of a devil instead . . . most of the time people can never survive an encounter with a Conductor Tiger, but seeing you're not dead – nor are you even scathed in any way – then it must be, indeed, the luck of a devil."

"Shishishi!" Luffy gave out his signature laugh, "You're funny, Tora Guy!"

The teen raised an eyebrow at him. "Tora?" The little boy gave another laugh.

"Because you beat that tiger!" Luffy started running around the strange boy, all the while doing his weird little dance. "Tora guy! Tora guy! Tora guy!"

After a short while, Luffy then abruptly stopped and turned his head to look at the boy with wide eyes. "Neh, Tora guy, who are you?"

Luffy watched as the boy gave him an annoyed look, muttering underneath his breath, and Luffy heard a few words such as "annoying brat" and "so slow". Again, this made Luffy laugh. He was starting to like this boy. He was _so_ funny! The boy sort of reminded him a bit of the times when he was still newly friends with Ace – when Ace finally allowed Luffy to finally hang out with him and Sabo.

The reminder of his absent brothers made Luffy pout. He missed his them. Though even if he was sad, he still managed to grin to himself when a certain thought came to mind, _I hope I can be friends with Tora guy in the meantime!_

With determination for a new companion, he gave a toothy grin to his soon-to-be friend. Yes, he _will_ make him his friend! (Even better! Maybe he can be his nakama of when he becomes a cool pirate captain someday!)

Dark eyes then turned to the strawhat boy with a look that might have scared normal little children, but not Luffy!

"Trafalgar Law," the teen answered Luffy's question. "My name is Trafalgar Law."

Luffy tilted his head, eyebrows pinched together in concentration.

"Tra . . . Tura . . . foolaga . . . traffigal . . ."

The annoyed teen watched as Luffy struggled much in trying to pronounce his name. After a good minute of the little boy butchering up his name more, the teen gave a deep sigh of annoyance.

"Trafalgar. Tra-fal-gar. It's not hard to say, Strawhat-ya. If it's too much for your dumb mind to figure out how to pronounce it, then you may call me 'Law'." But Luffy didn't listen to a word of what he said, so the teen just got further irked by him.

"Tragar . . . Faltragar . . . Tora . . . Toraaaao," Luffy then beamed, as if he achieved something. "Torao! Nice to meet you, Torao! Shishishi!"

The boy – who Luffy now dubbed him as _Torao_ – glared at him, "No. Just call me _Law_, Strawhat-ya."

But the boy was, again, not listening, and proceeded to dance around him again. "Torao! Torao! Torao!" He continued to run around in circles around _Torao_, and then land on the ground on his back, legs and arms splayed out as he laid there in a fit of giggles. "YAY! Torao is going to be my friend!"

"No I'm not!" Torao yelled.

"Shishishi, fine. Then you'll be my nakama!"

"How's that even better?!"

"It's okay, Torao! I'll be captain, then we can sail the seas for adventure! Ah, by the way, I'm Monkey D Luffy, and I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

He watched Torao sigh in exasperation and pinched the bridge of his nose, head lowered with his fluffy hat – _What a cool hat! _Luffy added – covering his view on his new friend's eyes. Luffy hoped that his new friend was not getting sick from how he's reacting. Wouldn't be good if his new friend was sick!

"Well, _Luffy-ya_, know that we are _not _friends. Nor _ever_ am I going to hang out with a dumb little kid like you, who – may I add – is weak enough to not last long on this island. If you're lucky enough, you might have a good five minutes before death finds its way to you."

The strawhat boy gave his meanest glare he could muster up, though it looked like a full-blown pout instead.

"I'm not weak! My punch is like a pistol! I can beat anyone with it."

Torao scoffed at that, "Really now?"

"Yeah!" Luffy then moved to face away from the teen, back facing him as he made a stance to get ready. "I'll show you! I will hit that tree, and it will shatter to pieces. Just wait and see!"

With that, Luffy started spinning his arm, preparing that special _pistol punch_.

_"Gomu Gomu no . . ."_

Then he threw the punch.

_"PISTOL!"_

With his rubber abilities, the fist went flying. Unfortunately, as what Ace and Sabo mentioned to him before, Luffy still had the problem of bad aiming, so Luffy watched as his rubber fist not hit the target and aimed at a rock that's beside the tree instead. It somehow made his fist bounce back towards him, but Luffy was able to dodge it this time.

_THUMP!_

After a while when his fist finally retracted back, Luffy made another pout.

"Hm, I'll get the aiming right someday. But did you see it, Torao? My punch is really like a pistol! It's awesome right?"

He turned around to check the reaction of his friend – _maybe Torao will see the move as _cool – but was confused to see him sleeping on the ground behind him. His hat was knocked off his head and was lying on the ground a small distance away from Luffy. A bruise was evident on his forehead, which made it look like he was punched by someone, but Luffy knew for sure that there was no one else except him and Torao. Maybe it was a ghost? Ghost people sound interesting!

Luffy crossed his arms at the sleeping body of his friend. "Hey! Why are you sleeping, Torao? My attack wasn't _that_ boring!" No response from his friend, though.

He went over to the unconscious boy, and started prodding him with a stick that was lying down beside him. "Torao? Toraoooo!" Still no response.

Luffy puffed up his cheeks, disappointed that his friend fell asleep from watching him demonstrate his _pistol_ attack – was it really that boring? Or maybe Torao didn't appreciate those kinds of attacks . . . well, whether he liked it or not, Luffy was still going to keep training and master that attack until perfection. Maybe by the time he improved on the attack, _then_ he can show it to Torao again. He'll make sure he won't be sleeping when he sees it by then.

The little boy didn't last long in his foul mood when his nose finally took notice of the smell of meat. He looked around and saw the campfire that Torao probably set up before he met Luffy. It turned out Torao must have been cooking meat a while ago before the tiger incident.

With a grin, he started walking over to his friend's lunch.

"Meat!"

He left his friend behind, in favor of having his favorite food.

And that was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: The chapter is (I think) shorter than the first two chapters, since they would reach 3000+ words. This one was 2000+ (not including A/N) but I just can't seem to think what else to add here, though I do hope this chapter was still interesting for you guys!**

**This Island is something I made up because I just wanted an island that will fit in for my ideas for Luffy, and also needed an island that no one knows of. By the way, is it just my own forgetful mind or did Law never add in "-ya" at the end of people's names as a kid? I can't remember I'm so sleepy by the time I'm typing this down, so I just made teen Law apply it by then already. I hope I'm right for doing that! If I got it wrong, please tell me so that I can take note of it and apply that in the next chapters.**

**Also, for those who didn't figure it out or know this yet: "Tora" is Japanese for "Tiger". So for those who got the reference, good for you! If you didn't get it, well here's my hint for you already xD**

**REPLY TO REVIEWS**

**Guest: **_**Oh, are you "Guest" from the first chapter? If so, hi again! You're welcome! And thanks! I was worried if I would fail on writing in Sabo's POV, but reading your review for the chapter made me feel at ease ^^ Thanks so much for the comment!**_

**Sara (Guest): **_**D'aw, thanks! I'm so glad you liked it! I was slightly worried if the fic was not interesting enough. Thanks for the comment!**_

**Emma (Guest): **_**HAHA, yeah there is just so many fanfics out there of kid Ace with the Whitebeards but it just never gets old. I'll try my best to make it interesting and hopefully not boring to read. Thanks for the comment!**_

**Next Chapter: **_**Problems and More Problems**_


	5. Chapter Four : Problems and More Problem

**A/N: I don't know. I lack sleep, but hey! Thanks to those who are still reading! You're all wonderful and I want to hug each and every one of you~**

**More A/N in the bottom as well as replies to comments!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**4**

**Problems and More Problems**

* * *

Ace would love to say he had a great battle with his demon father's rival. It would be an interesting story to share to his brothers once he reunites with them – especially Luffy, he could imagine the rubber boy with stars in his eyes as he tells him what happened, and it's this kind of story that he _knows _his little brother enjoy. Ace would _love_ to tell them about how he fought them bravely, missing death so many times, and at the end of it all he came out victorious, with the ship burning behind him. That would be _awesome_.

Unfortunately, if he did tell them that, he'd be one – big – _liar._

In a predicament that he didn't expect himself to be in, apparently _the_ notorious pirates, under the command of one of the _strongest_ pirate captain of the seas, was – of _all _things they could have done to him – taking care of him and feeding him.

What.

At this point, he doesn't know if he's either in the underworld with whatever devil was residing there, or if someone was playing a terribly bad joke on him.

"Hey, brat, are you going to eat or what, yoi?"

Ace glared at the man – Marco, right? – before turning his head back to his food. His bandaged hand clenched into a fist on his lap. Earlier, Ace woke up in the ship's infirmary, where he found himself treated for the small wounds, which he forgot he had them due to the explosion on the ship that he and his brothers were trapped in – at least it was small wounds. He could have been damaged greatly, but at least it was just minor scratches instead.

After waking up, that Marco man came to the infirmary to escort him to the Galley for him to have lunch. It turned out that he accidentally hit his head just this morning and that he was unconscious for a while, but woke up near lunchtime. Ace didn't like the man, and thought he could get away from following orders from him, but lost the fight when both of them heard his stomach protest and started to demand for food.

So, yeah, he's here, currently eating with the pirates.

"Don't talk to me," Ace grumbled.

Marco shrugged and went back to enjoying his food, letting the silence wash over them, even if it was really _loud _around them. Apparently he was right to imagine that pirates are such loud human beings.

"You know, I feel bad for your food there. Seriously, what did it do to be at the receiving end of your anger?"

Ace turned around to see what seemed to be a chef – the chef's clothes was a dead giveaway – with some weird hairstyle. He was giving a friendly smile. His friendliness – Ace hated it. He was having this kind of paranoia that they might treat him nice for now, but once he lets his guard down they'll stab him in the back. He must not let that happen. His brothers needed him. Maybe, once upon a time, he wouldn't mind allowing his fire be snuffed out easily like that since his life is just crap. He would've allowed it to save him the pain, and to finally give him his peace from all the hurt he receives from the world around him in a daily basis. But, one day, he met _Sabo_ – he met _Luffy_ – and that changed his purpose – the purpose to _live_. He will not die. He will _live,_ so that he will see to it that his brothers can be protected from the cruel world they live in. He _will_ see Sabo free. He _will_ see Luffy smile.

He will _not_ die.

So, with that, he tried sending his darkest glare at the chef, and had this tad bit twisted satisfaction of seeing the man flinch at that. Good. That should be a good warning for the man that he should never mess with him. After that, he went back to his food, and he does admit the food was _real_ good, unconsciously lifting a corner of his lips at how tasty it was.

"That's good! You seem to enjoy the food."

He turned back to see that the chef-man did not leave yet. In fact, he decided to sit by Ace's other side. Now he was trapped in between the annoying first mate and the weird chef guy. Ace inwardly groaned at this. It didn't help, at all, that the chef guy was giving this goofy smile that was starting to annoy Ace.

The man leaned forward and raised up his hand to the boy. "Well, I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm Thatch! You are?"

Ace growled at him like the wild animal he is, and went back to giving no mercy on the chunk of meat on his plate – _so good!_

"His name is Ace, yoi."

Instantly, Ace swiveled his head to Marco's direction and, of course, glare at the blonde. Seriously, he's been glaring so much in a short amount of time. But when he turned to look at this Thatch person, his goofy smile seem to turn even goofier, if that's even possible.

"Good to see you, Ace! I didn't get to greet you earlier since I was busy in the kitchen making all these barbarians' lunch." Marco scoffs softly.

"And also trying to avoid being shot to death by Izo, yoi."

Ace heard Thatch audibly gulp at that.

"A-Ah, yeah, I'm still trying to avoid going near to Izo for that." Marco rolled his eyes at the chef.

"Well, yoi, you could have avoided that if you just stopped being an idiot."

Tuning out their conversation that was slowly starting turn into a petty argument, Ace took his chance to scan the room, trying to observe everyone interact with each other in a merry way. He saw three men where they were acting really buddy to each other. One of them, the shortest one, probably said something stupid, which was paired up with a stupid grin. Whatever he said earned him a punch on the head from the tallest one who looked like he was scolding him, but the fire in his eyes wasn't dangerous. Even if he looked pissed at the shortest man, he had some warmth in his eyes despite the glaring. The third man that sat beside them decided to try breaking up the fight, but he was also trying his best to not laugh at them.

Watching the three of them mingle in whatever they were arguing about made Ace think of his brothers. That made him feel down. He missed his brothers, and was deep in his worries of whether Luffy and Sabo are alright. Especially Luffy, since he was a Devil Fruit user who could have drowned as soon as he landed in the waters—

Ace bit his lips to stop that train of thought.

No. Luffy is NOT dead. Ace hoped for that possibility – no, he _believes_ that Luffy is alright. That kid had luck on his side no matter what dangerous situation he is in. But even if he tried to reassure himself that Luffy might have survived, he still worries for his little brother.

_Luffy, you better have survived that, or else I'll go to wherever your soul is and beat the ever-loving shit out of you for dying!_

With new determination filling his veins – a new promise to himself that he _will_ find a way to find his brothers – he devoured his food.

Damn, the food was good.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Law did not know how long he was out, but when he opened his eyes, he saw that the sun was no longer high up on the sky and was dipping down ever slowly to the horizon, signaling that it was late afternoon and won't be long before evening. He groaned inwardly, knowing how he has to prepare for the night, since he figured out since the first day on the island of how there are certain kinds of animals that tend to be aggressive when it's dark. First and foremost, food is needed. Recalling that he was in the middle of cooking some meat during lunchtime hours ago, he hoped that it was not burned during his time while he was unconscious. (Well, obviously it must be burned by now.)

He turned his head to stare at the direction of where he set up a fire and his food earlier in the day, but he was surprised to see that there was no meat at all. Huh.

_Probably an animal? _He pondered on that thought. _I could name a few animals bold enough to come near to this site to steal from me . . ._

Not only did he find out that his food was now gone, but he also noticed something else. Unfortunately, this also confirmed his memories that he did, in fact, meet an obnoxious child by the name _Monkey D Luffy_.

Laid down on him, horizontally across his abdomen, was the very child with his limbs splayed out and a bubble sticking out of his nose as he snored happily on Law.

Either due to the heat or the sight of the brat, Law felt an annoying headache pound in his head.

Law proceeded to trying to push the boy off him – screw being gentle with him!

"Luffy-ya, get off me!"

The little boy groaned as he landed on the ground beside Law, plopping there and creating a tiny cloud of dust to fly up in the air. Luffy opened his eyes, then with those wide eyes he turned to look up at Law, who was getting up to dust off the dirt on his pants and ragged cloak. After that, Law looked down to see the boy give his signature wide smile.

"Good morning, Torao!"

Law huffed, turning away from him, "Good noon, you mean." He looked up to the sky, seeing the blue color slowly turn to shades of orange and red. "Though, from the looks of it, it might be starting to turn into evening."

At that, the teen heard a growl. He went back to looking at the boy, and see him lay his small hands to his stomach. Law watched Luffy pout, puffing air into those round cheeks of his.

"Ne, Torao, I'm hungry."

Rolling his eyes, he started walking away from him and walked towards his campfire, "Not my fault."

He only heard the little boy get up from the ground and shuffle towards Law, to which he gave Luffy a glare, but either the boy didn't mind the glare or he's just plain stupid to not notice.

"Torao! What about we go and adventure? Ah, but I'm still hungry, so maybe we should go hunting. Do you know how to hunt, Torao? I used to go hunting along with my brothers back home. We always hunt together! Also, my favorite is crocodile meat! Oh, but Ace and Sabo always scold me everytime I get eaten by the crocodile. The meat was tasty though, so it was worth it! I really love meat. How about you, Torao?"

By now, he was pretty sure this little shit was the cause of his headache.

Well . . . maybe it would have been not that annoying back then – when everything was not ruined by this _disgusting_ world. He recalled of how back in those happy days of normalcy, he would sit there patiently with a medical book in hand as he listened to his little sister talk. She'd talk, and talk, and talk, about anything and everything, with eyes of love and curiosity for this world – right before that very world took her away. How dare they took her away – how _dare_ they took _Lami_ away? She didn't deserve it. His parents didn't deserve it. _Everyone_ didn't deserve it. And when everyone was gone, _he's_ somehow alive.

Why'd he survive?

Why's he still alive?

Why's he not with his family?

Why's he not with Lami?

Ever since _that_ day, every child he came across with who showed innocence, love, and the same amount of curiosity for the world makes Law feel sick. Every child with such beauty in them _should_ have been Lami. His little sister _should_ be alive, talking to Law of more things that she loves of the world, even if the world was cruel to her.

He couldn't take it. He couldn't stand the sight of those children. And now, here's _one_ child that reminded him a bit of Lami – the curiosity for this horrible world, as if they weren't aware of its terrors.

Law grinded his teeth together.

No. This annoying little brat is NOT Lami. Will never be. Only Lami deserved that happiness.

Before his thoughts could get even darker, the boy – the bane of his existence at the moment – spoke up, disturbing him from thinking further ideas.

"Torao, I'm hungry," Luffy whined. "Let's go get food already!"

Law scoffed, "Luffy-ya, it's not that easy to do. This island is slightly more dangerous than any other normal islands. This place attracts many storm clouds than normal. And it seems that the clouds seem to enjoy coming over to this island during nighttime, judging from my observation of this place when it's evening."

Luffy tilted his head, confused. Law ignored him in favor of explaining more of the island.

"Clouds gather at night since there are these kinds of trees that only grow on this island. They attract these storm clouds, but mostly at night. The storm clouds that come at daytime is only due to the usual direction of the wind blowing them here.

"For these trees, I am not quite sure if I ever read them up in a book on botany, but I just call them Conductor Trees. All of them grow in a certain area in the heart of this island, which is why I avoid that place as much as possible, both during day and at night. Did you understand all that, Luffy-ya?"

Luffy was silent, eyebrows pinched together and face tinted a bit red probably from thinking. Law considered that as Luffy trying his best to listen, so he continued.

"Now, even if I do admit I'm safe so far from avoiding this part of the island, it does not mean I'm safe as well from the storms. If one were to stay on this island, they must always check the sky. If not a cloud is seen, then I choose that very moment to hunt and gather resources. Once I see even a tiny bit of a cloud in the sky, I head off to a safe place – I have a second hideout in a cave nearby for when that happens.

"That's not the only danger you face when staying on this island. There are also the animals to watch out for. They've adapted to what this island offers to the point that they are all lightning-proof. They basically can roam around during the storms, so there can be possibilities of them casually strolling over to the cave, so I have to make sure I'm always on guard when that does happen. Remember that tiger-creature that attacked you? I named it the Conductor Tiger, and encountered it on my first week on this island, but I luckily did enough to scare it away from the cave during the storm that time."

In the end of that lengthy explanation, he glanced over to the little boy who, during the explanation, had his face grow redder and _redder_. Law raised an eyebrow at this, but not a moment later did he see Luffy then grin and hit the side of his fist on an open palm.

"So, this is a mystery island! With mystery trees, and mystery animals! Got it!"

Law groaned and pinch the bridge of his nose. No, he'll not kill the boy. No, he will not—

"Luffy-ya, did you even listen to a thing I said?"

Luffy just held his grin.

"Yup! You said this is a mystery island, so it's a mystery island then!" Luffy's stomach then growled. "Ah, I'm hungry. Meat! Let's go find dinner!" Apparently, Luffy has such short attention span.

No. Law will _not _strangle this stupid little shit. He will _not_ kill this little shit as well—

A roar echoed in the forest.

Both boys turned to see that there was a bear a distance away from them, and this creature shared the same colors of the Conductor Tiger earlier in the day. It was going around the forest probably trying to look for food. After a while of the animal searching around, it started running away from their area.

But even as the bear was slowly disappearing into the trees, Law saw Luffy starting to drool.

"Torao! I want the mystery bear! We must capture it!"

Law frowned at him, "And how, Luffy-ya, are we going to do just that? It's getting away. I suggest we just go ahead to the traps I set up for Conductor Rabbits earlier—"

Of course, Law should know by now that Luffy _never_ listened to anything that Law tells him. So when he saw the boy definitely ignoring him, he heaved a sigh—

And also stiffened once Luffy quickly stepped to pass by Law, to stand behind Law, then make both his hands stretch towards the two trees a short distance away in front of them. Law observed the boy's strange abilities and guessed he must have a Devil Fruit. He wanted to question him on which fruit did he eat . . . ah, but he shouldn't worry about that at the moment. The question he wanted to ask right now was—

"Luffy-ya? What the hell are you doing?"

Again – of course – Luffy didn't answer, but the wide mischievous on his face made Law worry much.

"_Gomu Gomu no . . ."_

"Luffy-ya, whatever are you doing—"

But he didn't finish that when Luffy then, like a slingshot, shot them straight into the air, heading towards the direction of where the Conductor Bear ran off to. Law felt like he left behind his heart, and maybe his soul, as he paled at the very thought of _how the hell are they going to land?!_

As for Luffy, he was just busy laughing in the air beside him like the little crazy brat he is.

At this rate, they'd _definitely_ catch up with the creature and have their dinner before it gets dark. But that's beside the point—

"LUFFY-YA! I'LL KILL YOU AFTER THIS!"

He's only answered with more laughter.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_"This is bad."_

_ "No joke."_

_ The three brothers, after some effort and a bit of Luffy falling down several times, they were able to climb up to the roof of Party's Bar and looked down at the chaos happening bellow._

_Apparently, as soon as the pirates docked their ship by the ports of Foosha, they then proceeded to terrorize the town, scaring the poor people to handing over their goodies and resources. These pirates definitely didn't come here for a lovely chat, or even just to party like how Luffy said Shanks would always do that on his stay in this village._

_Upon watching the pirates forcing people to give up their stuff, just because they can, made Ace and Sabo's blood boil. Just not them, but Luffy voiced out to them that he does not like them at all and that they definitely are not as cool as Shanks. The two eldest understood how Luffy felt. After all, they knew that the little boy dislikes bullies._

"_GYAHAHAHA! That's right, you land dwellers!" A loud guy, probably the captain, stood in the middle of the crowd which was his crew, standing with such a confident and smug smile on his face. "Just a 'friendly' reminder that no one should even think of fighting back or else . . ." He then snapped his fingers to his men, which they reacted immediately as they started dragging someone towards their captain's feet._

_The three brothers stared at the struggling citizen with horrified expressions._

_A familiar dark green hair was in a mess, missing the bandana that usually is placed there to keep them back. The citizen had a troubled expression, and also had a bit of bruises on them, as if they were beaten a bit earlier before they were held hostage by the bastard captain's crew._

_The citizen was Makino._

"_M-Makino!" Luffy whined, eyes starting to water a bit as he watched the kind-hearted woman be treated roughly by pirates._

"_Shush, Luffy!" Ace scolded his brother, but he also felt troubled by the sight too. "They'll hear you!"_

_The three continued watching as Makino kept struggling even as she was then lifted up from the ground by the captain, pulling her up by grabbing her hair._

"_Hm, you're pretty actually," The captain eyes her, and she flinched from what he said. "Maybe I could keep you . . . so that you can entertain me and my crew here." He turned to his crew with the ugliest smirk on his face. "What do you say, boys?"_

_The crew cheered loudly._

_Everyone felt their eyes grow wide at those words. Everybody loved Makino. Everybody didn't want them to taint her._

_How dare that they said such things!_

_Then something happened._

_Ace knew that when something bad happens it's mostly because of Luffy and his skill (is it even called a skill?) in being able to be a magnet for all trouble. But what he didn't expect was that it wasn't Luffy this time._

_In fact, it was him._

"_Wh-Whoa!"_

_Ace slipped from where he was on the roof and fell to the ground – "Oof!" – gaining attention from everyone._

_The captain, a short distance from him, raised an eyebrow at him._

"_What's this?"_

_He could hear Makino gasp when she saw him. Not just her, but from where he was lying down on the ground, he could see the panicked expressions on his brothers' faces as they're still on the roof, watching Ace from where they are._

"_Boy, how dare you interrupt me!"_

_Uh-oh._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: We got to see what happened with Ace, Law, and Luffy in this chapter. Next chapter, Sabo finally wakes up! So look forward to that ^^**

**Also, edited this chapter when I'm so sleepyyy. (Well, **_**sorta**_** edited. Though it's not perfect sorry. Just enough for you all to get what's happening.)**

**And, again – **_**sigh**_** – another advanced update. Originally was supposed to post on the fifteenth of September, but I'm busy this week and next week, so here's another advanced update! (Geez, you guys must be enjoying advanced updates even if I wanted to take my time posting the chapters xD)**

**According to my Updates Schedule, next update will (hopefully) be on either the last week of September or first week of October!**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**Rikuai12: **_***falls from bed upon reading your name* Oh! I never expected someone familiar to read my story. What a surprise it was for me to see it was you of all the millions in the world! Now your review made my day and I couldn't stop myself from smiling, HAHA! And yes, I like those two precious boys. So I ended up enjoying myself on making that chapter xD Thanks so so SO much for your review :D**_

**Guest#1: **_**Pfft yup! I didn't want to post it days beyond my deadline for it since I'm busy with college, so I decided an early update instead! You're welcome, and am here with a new chapter ^^ Thanks for the review!**_

**Guest#2: **_**Ohh, glad that you're that same Guest! ^^ I'm so happy you reviewed this story again, and yes Sabo is also one of my favorites as well! No Sabo in this chapter, but like I mentioned above, Sabo will definitely be in the next one. Thanks for the review and hoping to see you next time!**_

**Maria5501: **_**D'aw, your comment made me blush! When making the story, I try my best to make sure that the characters that I place in this fanfic are staying in-character, to the point I already rewrote some parts to correct it, in order for the characters to not be OOC. But the fact that one person praised me for one of the things I worked hard on the story made me SUPER happy! And "incredibly well written"? That praise is making me nervous, but I'll do my best to continue making you interested on future chapters! Thank you very much for the review ^^**_

**Next Chapter: **_**Promises **_


	6. Chapter Five : Promises

**A/N: I'm still tired and sleepy, as well as busy with projects (so sorry for any mistakes I forgot to correct here in this update) but I'm still happy to give more chapters! ^^**

**(So while there are people who end up feeling guilty for posting later than their schedule, there's me who feels ashamed for posting earlier than my schedule xD)**

**Also, I don't hate OCs really (everyone has an OC! …right?) but I won't be putting OCs in this fanfic so that no one feels uncomfortable when reading this story ^^ The only OCs you'll have here are the ones in the background that will remain nameless AND kinda forgettable – like background people is what I'm trying to say, lol.**

**More A/N in the bottom, as well as replies to reviews!**

**And yes, an early update because – you guess it right – I'll be VERY busy the following days. College life is busy, so please understand that!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**5**

**Promises**

* * *

It was now the next morning since the Whitebeards found a little boy floating on the waters beside their ship. The day was beautiful, with no sign so far of an incoming storm. Not a Marine ship was in sight and all was peaceful, and Marco could not find himself complaining about it. Oh, speaking of peaceful . . .

"What do you mean that I can't leave?! My brothers are out there! I _need_ to go ahead and find them!"

Yeah, he thought too soon.

Marco watched as the kid bravely – or was it _stubbornly?_ – stood up to Whitebeard, anger lighting the fire in his eyes, not even caring that he was talking back to a man even most Marines are scared of. The commander agreed that this boy has spunk – but maybe he should be concerned about that instead, since sometimes stubbornness can be the end of some people. Though, since the person he was talking to was his Pops, then Marco knows that Ace wasn't going to be killed for that. After all, Marco knew his Pops the best than most of his ship siblings.

"Brat, I understand that you want to find your brothers, but you're currently still healing," Whitebeard said in a patient tone even if some of Marco's siblings seemed already irked at the boy for speaking rudely to their captain. "And you can't be able to search for them alone. I promise we will help you find them after you're in a better state than that. You can trust us for that."

Ace growled at that.

"What do you mean 'we'? I don't _need_ your help! Why do you care anyways? You don't even know them, so why help? I am capable of finding my _own_ brothers!"

"But you're in no good condition—"

"Shut up!" This made almost everyone raise their weapons, prepared to protect their captain if the boy decided to make a move. Ace noticed this and attempted to rubs his temples to try calming down his anger.

"Look, old man," he started. "Just . . . give me a ship – give me a ship, and I won't be here anymore. Give me a ship and I won't do anything funny to you or your crew. Give me a ship, and I'll be on my merry _fucking_ way, looking for my brothers. Is that hard to understand?"

Marco shook his head. This boy definitely was rude. Using such language speaking to Pops – even if they are pirates and cussing is a norm for most of them, Marco definitely knows a child shouldn't be talking like that, especially to their elders. But when he looked up at his captain, the man showed no evidence of being affected by the boy's rudeness, but he did give Ace a gentle look.

"Brat, again, I understand you're in a hurry, but letting you go now will be reckless. Tell me, do you even know where they are?" Ace was silent at that. "Are you even capable of reading the unpredictable weather of Grand Line?" At that, Ace was still silent. "As expected. I know you don't trust us, but please know we _will_ keep our promise that as soon as you're healed there, I will send a search party for your brothers, and you may even join to help as well."

Ace bit his bottom lip, conflicted with whatever thoughts were in his mind.

"But . . . why even help me? You're pirates! Not saints, or even those damn Marines either."

Marco watched as his Pops leaned back into his chair, his giant hand lifted to hold his chin with a thoughtful expression.

"Good question, brat," he then grinned. "Maybe it's because something about you is interesting. I wonder why . . ."

At those words, Marco watched Ace flinch at that, but then kept his face the same, so not many but Marco and Whitebeard was able to see that.

_Wonder why he reacted like that, yoi._

After a long stretch of silence from the boy, he finally gave in and sighed.

"Fine," but then his glare returned. "But if you do anything funny, I _will _fight you!"

Amused, Whitebeard's grin just grew wider.

"GURARARA! You're years too early to fight me, brat!"

Signaling the end of the conversation, Ace stomped away from Whitebeard, heading over to the infirmary, since he was strictly instructed by the nurses that he come back as soon as he was done with his conversation with the captain. Even if Ace decided to agree with Whitebeard's terms, his tone did sound like he was planning something – that's what the first division commander thinks, but maybe he's just imagining stuff and that, in truth, Ace will indeed stay behaved until he fully recovers.

Since the talk was over, Marco watched the rest of the crew disperse and head back to their duties, or even go back to slacking off. Marco then walked over to stand by his Pops' chair. His father didn't show any sign of seeing his first mate walk over to him as his eyes were following Ace, a smile still on his face.

"You know, I think I like the brat. Still not even sure of why."

Marco rolled his eyes at that, but he smiled anyways.

"Please don't tell me you'll be asking him to join the crew soon, yoi."

"GURARARA! Such a tempting thought there!"

Of course, his father wanted to keep the child. But Marco wasn't complaining. Who knows? Maybe the kid would someday open up to them, and maybe even grow into a great man who can bear his father's symbol.

He hoped that _that_ very day will come soon.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_"Ace! Luffy! The three of us have to set out to sea someday. We'll get out of the country and be free!"_

_ "Let's get stronger, and become pirates!"_

_ His voice._

_ "I will become a pirate, defeat everyone in my way, and become known across the whole world!"_

_ "That will be proof that I lived!"_

_ That voice . . ._

_ "I'm gonna be the Pirate King!"_

_ A child's voice . . ._

_ "Have you heard? When you exchange sake cups, you become brothers."_

_ "With this, starting today, we're brothers!" _

_ Brothers?_

_ Why . . . can't he remember?_

_ Why?_

_ Why . . ._

I want to remember.

_Suddenly, there were muffled sounds in the darkness._

_ ". . . should be better . . ."_

_ "We should . . . recover . . ."_

_ "He . . . injured . . . probably . . . burning ship."_

_ "He . . . wake up soon . . ."_

_ What's going on?_

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Sabo woke up feeling down.

His mind seemed to enjoy tormenting him by constantly reminding the amnesiac that he lacks any memory about him or his past. He could imagine his mind as this big bully, smirking as he held his memories in one hand, high enough for it to be out-of-reach for Sabo. "Oho? You want your memories back?" He imagined it to say to him. "Well, too bad! You're never going to get it!"

Yeah, he's pissed at that.

Well, he did not have time to ponder much about that because when he looked up, he saw a face staring right back at him.

"So you're up, huh."

A kid – who was either a year older than Sabo (maybe) or same age with him – stared back at Sabo with a scowl to his face. At first, Sabo thought the scowl was directed to him, but for some reason he had this feeling that the scowl was just part of the boy, and that he was not actually angry at all.

"Uh—"

"So you finally got up," the boy said. "You looked terrible when they found you. They guessed you were on some burning ship or something. But, hey, at least you're feeling better now, right?"

Sabo tilted his head. He was injured? What happened?

Tuning out the kid's voice on whatever he was saying, Sabo turned to face the only window of the room and he could see that he was on the sea.

_Must be on a ship, _he thought as he raised his hand to his head to adjust his hat—

His hand only felt his curly hair instead. But that was not what got him frowning to himself. What happened there was something that his body remembered, but not his mind. His hand recalled a habit of probably adjusting a hat on his head, but Sabo couldn't remember if he had a hat before. Well, it was something little, but at least he found out _something_ about himself, despite it being such a minor detail that's connected to his memories.

"Anyways," the voice of the kid he was currently ignoring cut through his thoughts, "They also said something about the leader, Dragon-something, would want to talk to you when you get up."

Sabo nodded and turned to look away, "Okay, thank you, Ray." Sabo looked ready to ignore him again. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the boy gave him a real frown this time that matched with his usual angry expression.

"That's not my name, idiot! Were you even listening earlier while I was talking? You ignored me, didn't you!?"

That very moment, Sabo heard the door of the room slowly open, and he moved his head to look around and see who had entered in the room. What he saw was a . . . man, from his guess, who dressed up his best to look like a woman. The man also had a huge head with makeup on his face, as well as a purple afro. Sabo wondered if the hair was either a wig or if that's really his hair.

"Hello, boy, feeling better already?"

Sabo gave a nod, "I heard I need to speak with someone as soon as I'm up?"

The afro man looked a bit surprised before giving a big smile to him. "Why, yes indeed, boy. I'll lead you to Dragon."

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

As instructed, he saw Iva walking with the little boy of High Town following him from behind. The boy was still in the middle of healing, evidence shown by the display of all those bandages wrapped around him, especially his left side of his face where Dragon saw it burnt when he first found him. The boy looked around the ship, studying it and observing his comrades doing their duty on the ship as they sail back to their secret base, eyes calculating and studying them. Dragon was amused with the kid's actions, knowing he'd make a good spy, or maybe even a revolutionary if he decides to join.

_That'd be interesting._

Once the kid was just a few feet away from Dragon, Iva said something to the boy then turned to walk away, leaving him and Dragon to have some privacy. Dragon turned to go back to his previous position of staring at the sea and beyond the horizon. The kid understood him without Dragon needing to be vocal about it, so the kid took his place to stand beside the man, staring at the sea as well.

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Dragon went straight to the point. He's not a man for beating around the bush when wanting to gain information, unless if it was really necessary for him to do so. "Must be such a traumatizing experience for a kid to be the target of a Celestial Dragon's fury."

The boy turned to look up at the man, but instead of either fear or fury at the memory of the Celestial Dragon shooting down his ship mercilessly, all he saw in that boy's expression was confusion.

"What . . . ?"

Dragon raised an eyebrow at him. Didn't the boy remember at all? Even if it was such a horrible memory for a mere child to experience, he was pretty sure he wouldn't forget such a thing. At that very moment, a small theory popped up in the man's head, and he frowned at this in a small bit of concern. He would want to test out if his theory was right.

"Boy . . . do you remember anything? Anything at all?"

At that question, he confirmed his theory correct when he saw that lost look on the boy's face.

"I . . . I'm sorry, sir," the boy answered softly, "I don't remember a thing sadly. I don't even remember who I am."

Dragon simply gave a small nod to this, understanding that the boy was inwardly conflicted with his discovery that he was now an amnesiac.

"But . . ."

The man watched as the boy looked up at him with worry and anger in his eyes, small fists clenched by his sides.

"I may not remember anything, but . . . one thing's for sure, I have this thought in my head that tells me that I 'don't want to go back'. My mind keeps telling me that I don't want to . . . go back . . . to my parents . . ." The boy looked down, and Dragon watched as his fists kept shaking a bit, but the shaking wasn't too obvious, as if the boy didn't want to show how vulnerable he looked at that very moment.

_Abusive parents?_ Dragon inwardly thought, but shrugged off the incoming questions that was now invading his mind concerning the boy.

"Alright. We won't take you back then," He saw the boy slump down his tense shoulders in relief. "But what do you want to do from now on?" He watched as the boy then tense again, probably realizing just then what should he do now that he was not going back.

"I . . . I don't know."

The both of them lapse into a silence as they stared back at the sea, the sun resting just above the horizon, signaling that the day was about to end, telling everyone to wrap up for the day, and do whatever they want to do before it all ends and leads to the next day of the future.

"Well," Dragon voiced out, breaking the silence and making the boy turn back to look at him. "What I can tell you of what happened to you is that you were on this small fishing ship. I'm not completely certain of what you were thinking of that time, but you looked like you were trying to sail away – to be free? To adventure? That, I'm not sure, but as you were sailing away on that small ship, you crossed paths with a ship of a Celestial Dragon," From the corner of his eyes, he saw some of his comrades glancing his way, probably a bit surprised of how he was more vocal to the child. But that was understandable since he's doing all this in order to help the child by providing information. He then looked at the boy.

"Do you have a memory that should help you understand of what is a Celestial Dragon, boy?"

At that, the boy shook his head.

"As I thought. Celestial Dragons are these noble figures that hold so much power that even they could order the government and the Marines to do whatever they want. So when you crossed paths with that Celestial Dragon, he got furious and shot your boat down, not caring if it was a child onboard."

The boy grew pale at that, but then anger flashed through his face.

"That's horrible!"

"Alas, that is the world we live in today," Dragon gravely nodded. "They do things that make them less human, and others suffer due to their arrogance and selfishness. What's more is that the Marines, who are supposed to watch and protect the people, have no position to say no to the Celestial Dragons and follow their orders. Thus, we currently have a world that you may consider as 'disgusting'."

He paused to let that information sink in the boy's mind. The man was surprised that a kid his age could handle that much of that very kind of information. After a minute of silence, he then continued.

"However, there are some who want to do something – something to stop all the suffering, pain, and _corruption_ of the world. Some of us want to take action and _destroy_ this terrible system they built. Some want to create a better world where the new generation does not ever learn such cruelty in such an early age. A group who made it their goal to make this dream into a reality."

With those words, the boy asked with interested eyes, "What's the name of this group?"

Dragon gave a small grin.

"The Revolutionaries."

They went back to silence, but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all. They stayed like that when the sun finally started to hide behind the horizon, showing the end of the day. But there will be a new day after this, with whatever the future has for them – a future that's made once a choice is decided before it all began.

"Then," the boy said in a soft voice, but it was clear enough for Dragon to not mishear the words. "I want to be a revolutionary."

That very choice was then made.

The future was now finally decided.

"Then you are welcome to join."

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_"Sabo!"_

_ "Give Sabo back!"_

_ "Don't do it, Sabo!"_

_ "I'll do whatever you ask of me. I'll live just as you tell me to, so . . . don't hurt these two. That's all I ask."_

_ "Hey! Don't go!"_

_ "We were gonna share our freedom together, remember?!"_

_ "Sabo! Don't go!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ "Sabo!"_

_ But he left anyway._

I'm sorry.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Ace was watching the waves rock the ship gently, as well as the sky as the sun was now leaving its last rays on the vast blue up on high as it hid behind the horizon. The sunset looked beautiful, ending the day with such a beautiful mood.

Ace rested his chin on his arms, getting lost in his thoughts as he thought about his brothers. Every second that passed was full of worry in his heart and mind as he imagined every worse-case scenarios that they may be in. Though he was feeling pessimistic, he was still hopeful that they survived and are somewhere – _somewhere _out there.

He will find them.

He won't let the world separate them.

He won't lose any of them.

Not Luffy.

Not Sabo.

They will be together again.

_I won't fail as the eldest brother ever again._

Ace turned back to watch the night sky, the sun finally completely hidden behind the horizon, making the stars finally sparkle on the beautiful dark blue of night. They looked beautiful, making Ace reminisce for those nights the three of them chose to sleep under the beautiful night sky like this, enjoying each other's presence as the stars twinkle in delight at such a sight.

From behind Ace, the Whitebeards were busy having a merry night of drinking, being their usual noisy selves and not paying attention to Ace at all. He does not mind, since he does not trust them anyway.

He rested his cheek on his right fist as he watched the moonlight reflect on the waves below him. The sea was just so beautiful, and Ace could not _wait_ for the very day he gets to be free and sail on its waters, looking for adventure and new meaning to his life. He'd also want his brothers to sail the seas and be free just like him as well.

But to do that, he _must_ find them as soon as possible.

He looked up to watch the stars and the moon . . .

_I wonder if they're looking at the same sky like me, too._

With that thought, he gave a soft smile. A smile that was so rare, only the people who gained a special place deep in his heart could be the only ones permitted to see.

They will find each other again.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: No Luffy in this chapter, but he'll be in the next one. As well as Law. (*plays with party poppers*)**

**Remember what I said guys! No OCs here, for the sake of readers who have different opinions on OCs. In other words, this story is made in a way where anyone can read ^^ Any questions? I'll answer any questions you may have as long it isn't a question that asks for spoilers maybe.**

**Also, I don't know how to write Iva's dialogue at the moment, so expect his dialogue to be typed down normally until I figure out how to do it. But if you do know and want to teach me, please do! That'd be BIG help, thanks!**

**Since I will be REALLY busy with projects that need to be finished for my Finals in college, expect the next update to be on the second to the last week of October OR the last week of October.**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**ThayetJade: **_**You're welcome xD And yes! I do enjoy stories of Ace and the Whitebeards as well. The idea of Ace always getting distracted by his food was something that I didn't plan out, but it happened anyways, HAHA! It was due to my hunger during the time when I typed that draft of a chapter down. My mind kept going back to thinking of food, and it somehow reflected to my writing of Ace there. Glad you enjoyed the brothers' POV! And yes, here's Sabo ^^ Thank you greatly for the review!**_

**Guest: **_**Hello again RIA! :D You're welcome, and thank you for loving this imperfect story! I try my very best! Here's Sabo, since I know how you like Sabo ^^ Not much happened yet, but I hope you still enjoyed it. Thanks a bunch for the review!**_

**Maria5501: **_**Hi again to you too! And AGAIN you're making me blush! Glad you enjoyed the "comic relief" I designed Law/Luffy's parts to have. My friend and I genuinely enjoyed discussing the funny interaction between the two so it's great to hear others enjoy it as well. Ace shows distrust, but of course he'll open up later~ And Sabo… he's still sleeping, HAHA! (I'm so jealous that Sabo gets more sleep than I do!) But, hey! He's now awake! (YAY!) Yes, a bit of spoilers, but there will be a part where it will have a (maybe) two year timeskip before they finally get to meet. I'm not final with the ending, but I made two choices on how it should end! Just hope I finalize the ending soon! As for a sequel… I have none decided so far. Anyone may suggest a sequel idea if they want, but I'm making no promises of a sequel unless I want to! And yeahhh I tend to sloppily type, so when I start editing, I snarl at every typo I see, but at the same time I'm half asleep by the time I edit so some mistakes are left behind. And don't worry about your review being long, because I like long reviews. Although… I'm worried about my reply to your review because, welp, this is long, HAHAH! Thanks for reviewing again! :D**_

_**Thanks to all who followed and add this story to their favorites! Whoever reads my imperfect story is a wonderful person and deserves so much love! ^^**_

**Next Chapter: **_**Goodbyes and Friends**_


	7. Chapter Six: Goodbyes and Friends

**A/N: Don't mind this human puddle here. I'm just so happy to be finished with finals. (Okay, that's a lie. I still have one more exam and two more Project Defenses I still have to work on, THEN I'm free!) It was such a tough week and I just can't WAIT for it to be over, but you guys made it seem a bit more bearable, so thank you for loving this fanfic of mine ^^ **

**By the way, here's an early update (again) since I'm too busy in the next two weeks.**

**Anyways, on with the story!**

**More A/N in the bottom!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**6**

**Goodbyes and Friends**

* * *

Ace knows he should wait until he fully recovers before he heads off finding his brothers, but he was growing more impatient every passing hour as he's haunted with thoughts of any bad predicaments he guessed they are currently in. He also knows he should be like Sabo, where he should think things through and create a plan before throwing himself to the storm of his problems. But he was _not_ Sabo, so he was going to do things _his_ way.

Now, due to his impatience, he spent the last hour finding a lifeboat, and once he determined the location of where they kept the lifeboat he snuck out some food from the kitchen that should help him in his travels for a while until he finds an island. With all the things he planned to bring packed and ready, he tried his best to escape with the lifeboat with no one noticing. He chose this very night to escape since everyone decided to drink until they all passed out, and the one on watch fell asleep. How was that _not_ a golden opportunity? Of course he'd take it! But despite his best chance of finally being free from them, he did his best to be cautious and check if no one noticed they're missing one boy from the ship. He even make sure that their captain and first mate are asleep in their rooms, since Ace can surely guess they're the two that he _should_ be cautious with if he were to escape unnoticed.

Now that's he sailing away on his mission to find his brothers, putting distance away from the Moby Dick, Ace grinned in satisfaction.

_So long, pirates! _He bid them farewell in his mind, _I will probably see you never!_

He turned around and faced the ocean with a now serious face. The sun was slowly rising, with another day starting.

"Luffy, Sabo, I'm coming. Just wait for me . . ."

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

"You bored? Well, I am."

Sabo looked up from his lunch and saw the same kid from yesterday, the usual grumpy-looking face that just seem normal on him. What was his name again? Bob?

"So you're joining them, huh. I don't know why, but it almost sounds like being with them – doing their 'cause' or whatever – sounds fitting for someone like you. Hope you know what you are deciding here, by the way. Good luck on your decisions from now on."

Sabo raised an eyebrow at Steve. Apparently someone maybe told the boy about Sabo joining the revolutionaries. Not only that, but he's not alone in his thoughts anymore.

Well, there goes Sabo's peace.

While John started to talk to him as Sabo tried to finish his soup – and maybe he should escape after eating as fast as he could so that he could find another place to be alone in – Larry tried to start a conversation. (Ugh, why couldn't he just remember this boy's name?!)

"So, Sabo," the boy spoke up. "Your memories, huh."

Sabo sighed at this. He didn't want to be reminded of his still missing memories at a time like this. So to prevent from saying anything bad due to his annoyance, he shook his head. The boy sent a pitiful look to Sabo and asked another question.

"Do you want to go back home?"

With that question, Sabo recalled his unconscious thoughts on not wanting to go back to his parents.

Frowning at himself, the amnesiac scowled at the mysterious anger that comes up everytime he thinks about his parents that he could not even remember, but still managed to make Sabo have some hatred on them despite the lack of memories. He wondered what did they do to make Sabo hate them, but it probably would be terrible if he tried to remember them anyway, so he tried his best to not recover any memory about them.

_But who were those two boys in his dream—_

"Thinking about my parents gives me this bad feeling," Sabo finally answered back, but in a soft but angry voice. "I don't want to go back." Billy gave a sad look at him.

_Never will I ever go back to my parents if they make me feel this mad. They're not my family, whatever they did to me. If that's what it feels like to have a family, then I don't want one—_

A sharp pain then entered his mind, making Sabo hold his head in agony as he groaned, forcing himself to not scream and catch the attention of everyone in the cafeteria of the Revolutionaries' base. He kept his eyes shut so tightly while images and scenes flashed in his mind behind his eyelids. Kyle was surprised. The boy reached his hand towards him.

"Sabo?"

Sabo just grinded his teeth together as he felt his hands start pulling his hair.

_"With this, starting today, we're brothers!"_

That particular scene he kept having in his dreams – which kept mocking him that he still couldn't remember anything – was also one of the things that flashed into his mind. After that scene popped up in his head, the pain slowly subsided and Sabo found out that he was holding his breath this whole time.

_Why does this keep happening everytime I try to remember those two? _Sabo pondered about the two boys in his dream, whom those two boys are named "Ace" and "Luffy". It was true that even one little attempt to recall them would start the world's most annoying headache in Sabo, but he wonders why . . .

Sabo made a frown at a certain realization.

In his repeating dreams of them, one of them – _Ace,_ he guessed – kept mentioning that they're brothers, and the other one – named _Luffy_ – agreed with him. So if they were brothers . . . doesn't that mean they're part of the family?

Which should make Sabo hate them.

If he had a feeling of hatred for whoever was his parents, then they _too_ must be included, since they admitted they were his brothers. So if they were brothers, then that should mean that he _should_ also avoid remembering them more to stop the feeling of anger when thinking of his parents. Sure, it was odd that whenever he thinks of his so-called _brothers, _he doesn't hold the feeling of hatred and actually feel warm inside instead, but everytime Sabo thinks of the word "parents" he sneers at that. So if they are what he thinks they are . . . then Sabo does not _want_ to remember them, despite the good feelings he gets from thinking about them.

_Maybe they were nice back then,_ Sabo theorized. _But they could have also did something bad before I lost my memories, betraying me . . . yeah, that might be it._

With that decided, if he does thinks of Ace and Luffy again, he will shrug those thoughts away and stop himself from gaining back his memories of his past. He wouldn't mind not restoring back _any_ memory at all in favor of ignoring the possible heartache in him if he finds out if his theory was right.

But . . . why does it feel like something inside him keeps prompting him that he _should_ remember?

". . . Hey! You're ignoring me again, Sabo!"

He was so deep in his thoughts that he just remembered that he should be listening to the boy that was talking to him. Sabo grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "I was daydreaming. Sorry, Ralph."

"Tch, that's not even remotely _close_ to my name, stupid! STOP FORGETTING MY NAME!"

Sabo continued laughing outside, but he inwardly sighed.

He'll just have to worry about his situation later _after_ he could somehow escape this boy.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_ "Look! It's a big hospital!" The big man said as he looked up at the building in front of them, but the boy ignored him and continued struggling. "They'll cure you!"_

Corazon . . .

_ "You're still a rude boy," the man reached out his hand to touch his cheek, thinking the little boy was sleeping when the boy was pretending. "And hearing you say 'I'll die soon' is heartbreaking . . ."_

Corazon, please . . .

_ "I'll be back in no time—" the man must have noticed the worried look on the freezing little boy because he then gave the brightest smile, a blush spread out on his cheeks, and spoke in a cheery voice. "—with the Ope Ope no Mi!"_

Don't leave, Corazon! Please, please, _please_ don't leave!

"_Hey, Law." The boy looked up from his hands – and made a face when he saw the most disgusting but warmest smile he's ever seen in his entire life. "I love you!"_

No! You'll die if you leave! Come back! PLEASE! DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T—

"_Leave him alone!" Corazon's voice was low, but it was loud and clear for Law to hear. _"HE IS FREE!"

_The sound of a gun echoed all around, with red staining the beautiful, _beautiful_ white of freshly fallen snow._

CORAZON!

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

"Torao! Torao!"

It is now day three since the annoying little shit mysteriously appeared on the island, and Law felt like he now has a migraine that should be enough to last until he reached an old age. Seriously, he was so ready to throw him to see and watch that little anchor sink to the bottom, and _stay_ there. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that because, for _some_ reason, he could almost hear Corazon's voice in his head scolding him and saying that he should at least make friends with the boy. Damn you, inner Corazon in his mind.

Oh, that's not the only thing he had to put up with the brat.

Life seemed to _love _toying with him and make Law suddenly see _Corazon's_ smiles on the boy who was dubbed by Law as the bane of his existence. The thought that he saw a part of Corazon in that boy, of all people, made Law shudder – and some part in him where the wounds were still tender ached as it tried its best to remember Corazon again.

_Why? _Law pondered. _Why is this happening to me? It's already a challenge to try not get hurt too much from the past, but why is it just so hard to heal when this is now on my path?_

He won't be able to be okay at this rate.

"Law! Law! Stop ignoring me already! Law!"

By the way, the little shit was still being annoying at the moment.

Law groaned and had to restrain himself from cutting Luffy into two with his sword. He sighed and got up from his makeshift "bed" and turned to glare at that irritating smile the little boy had.

"What is it, Luffy-ya? Are you not aware that it's the middle of the night right now?"

Luffy gave his signature laugh that Law never heard anyone ever use before. He called it the _Luffy Laugh_, to remember it's an annoying laugh like the very person who made the laugh as well. "But, Torao, it's raining! We should go play under the rain!"

At that, Law rolled his eyes at him and plopped down on his bed, "Playing under the rain will make you sick later on. Don't forget that it's _midnight_, as well. Just go to sleep, Luffy-ya." He then closed his eyes in his attempt to go back to sleep, but Luffy then ran up to his form and plopped down his body to land on Law, making Law let out a loud _oof!_ upon impact and turned his head to glare at the smiling boy.

"Torao! Let's go play! You made the funny raincoats to help keep us dry anyway."

Yesterday, Law introduced to Luffy the raincoat he made from rags and huge leaves from the big trees on the island. It's basically how he makes a cloak out of the rags, but he added the leaves for extra protection from the rain, since the leaves he found can deflect water. So in adding the leaves, it gives extra protection to prevent the rags from getting too wet and drenching the person wearing the raincoat with rainwater. Since the island always have storms coming towards the location, he had to make another raincoat for Luffy. Though he wouldn't mind letting the kid get sick from the rain . . . maybe he should have done that instead.

"Fine," Law finally muttered. "You may go out and 'play' out there in your raincoat. Just don't come back here and drench me in rainwater after playing like last time."

Luffy made a pout. "But, Torao! I want you to play with me, too!" This made Law groan.

"No," was Law's immediate response. "You sure you want me to play with you?"

_Watch out, brat, _Law thought. _If I do decide to join you, I might end up agreeing to my own plan of dragging you to the sea and drowning you there—_

"Shishishi!" Luffy's laugh disturbed him from his thoughts. "Yup! I want to play with Torao." He then proceeded to scoot even closer to Law, and surprised the teen when he suddenly hugged him, using his ability to wrap his arms around him three times.

Law was going to scold him and threaten him that he _will_ really throw him to the sea this time if he does not let him go this instant, but was silenced when Luffy looked up at him and gave a bright smile.

"I like Torao. I want Torao to be my friend!"

Law flinched. _That smile . . ._

"_Law!" The blonde man gave the brightest smile he ever gave, with the makeup on his face making it really weird – but had so much love and affection in it that it made Law remember those smiles he got from his parents before . . . that day happened._

He squeezed his eyes shut and grinded his teeth together.

No . . . no, he must not think of Corazon right now. He must _not _allow the _hurt_ to return right now.

The little boy on his lap looked at Law with worry, eyebrows pinching together in obvious concern.

"Torao? Are you okay?"

_I shouldn't get weak right now, _with that thought, he scoffed at Luffy and avoided his question. "Luffy-ya, even if I were to play outside with you, we'd get caught up in the storm and get hurt . . . and die. Remember what I explained about this island. Do you want that to happen to us? Want us to get struck by lightning and get roasted?"

Luffy's eyes sparkled at what he just said – wait, what.

"Roasted?! Do we get to have roasted meat? Where?!" Drool ran down from the corner of his lips as he bounced up and down with excitement, hurting poor Law. Of course, Law got annoyed.

"You idiot!" He scolded Luffy. "Didn't you listen at all? _We'll_ be the ones who will end up getting roasted if we go out there! The storm out there will kill us!"

The little brat had the nerve to burst out laughing.

"Shishishi, it'll be alright Torao! I'll protect Torao from any harm. Sabo says that I might be im—"

Everything else that Luffy said was drowned out by the sound of lightning outside.

"—and I trust Sabo! He's REALLY smart! So do you want to play with me now?"

Law hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

_Why me?_

At this point, maybe he really doesn't care of the consequences of his original plan. So, with nothing holding him back, he leaned forward to Luffy.

"Hey," he whispered. "Do you like adventures?"

At that, Luffy's eyes shone again, and Law swore he saw sparkles appear around him. He probably needs some sleep indeed.

"Adventure?! I LOVE adventure! Are we gonna have an adventure?!"

A dangerous glint showed in his eyes. Consequences be damned now.

"Oh, I'll give you an adventure alright."

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

He watched as Luffy ran excitedly towards the direction of the Conductor Forest, where Law believed was supposed to be the most dangerous forest on this island so far, especially in a stormy night. What he told Luffy was that there was a "magical golden chest" in the heart of the Conductor Forest, to which only appears in a stormy night like tonight. He then proceeded to point out where Conductor Forest was and watched as Luffy bolted off to the direction, as if someone told him One Piece was exactly on this island. He's surprised Luffy didn't even question why he would go there if it was dangerous, since Law explained that to him on his first day. Then again, Law's _not_ surprised if it turned out that Luffy never listened to that explanation of his _at all_. Yeah, might be it.

He just stood there with a smirk on his face as the image of the little boy in the raincoat that he made for him disappeared from his sight and into the area where it could be seen that a _huge_ storm cloud was heading straight towards it – towards the location of Conductor Forest.

The teen heaved a sigh of relief, _Peace and quiet, at last._

He turned around, the devious grin leaving his face to be replaced with a neutral expression that gave the message that he probably should sleep a bit more before the sun comes out. Since he knows much of this island for his survival, he definitely knew the survival rate of roaming around Conductor Forest was probably a measly one percent, with ninety-nine percent of being burnt to a crisp. Goodbye, annoying little brat.

_"Hey, Law, I love you!"_

Stopping from his tracks, he gritted his teeth, willing the memories of Corazon to not come back again.

"_I like Torao. I want Torao to be my friend!"_

This time, Luffy's voice echoed around in his head, and Law pulled the raincoat he's wearing closer to him.

He was glad he sent that brat out there, and he was slowly being convinced by his own mind that he made the perfect choice for himself—

So why did he feel lonely?

Wait, no. Why was he feeling lonely? Maybe he definitely needs some sleep now if he's starting to make such thoughts in his mind. He's NOT going to miss that boy, and never in his life will he EVER come to grow close to that boy.

Shaking his head and shrugging off those absurd thoughts, he walked away, happy to know by the next morning the little shit won't be there to greet him and ruin his day.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_ "Hey, Law, I love you!"_

_ "I like Torao. I want Torao to be my friend!"_

_ And with those words, smiles as bright as the sun light up even the darkest of night, penetrating through a heart that's so closed off and sealed with such darkness._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: I don't know why but making this chapter took longer than I expected, and a bit difficult since my mind was not working at all during the time I was writing down the content for this chapter. I'm just relieved that I finally reached 3000+ words and am ready to move on the next chapter, hurray! Hope this update was still entertaining for you all.**

**Also, sorry if some parts sound a bit rushed. It's because I just realized we probably are halfway through the first part/arc of **_**Return to Dawn!**_** So I'm kinda excited to reach far in the story, I'm sorry xD**

**As mentioned before, I'll be very busy the following weeks, so my next update will prolly be during the first week or second week of November.**

**Remember… no OCs ;) (Except bg people who only show once and never show up again.)**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**Guest: **_**Hello, RIA! :D Good to see you again! You're welcome, and I am thankful that the chapter cheered you up. It sucks when one suffers through a crappy week, so it is understandable to find ways to cheer up. I do hope you do well with life though ^^ Thanks for reviewing and hope I keep making you happy!**_

**Maria5501: **_**Hello again! It's nice to hear that someone still finds my story amazing! And yeah, I read some stories with so much potential, but sadly they never get finished :( Though I may have an ending in mind, just hope I don't lose inspiration of finishing it! Because whenever I make a story, I ALWAYS plan out an ending before the story goes public. Problem is to stay inspired to finish the story until its end… But I stay strong on my love with One Piece, so I do hope to finish it to the very end ^^ (I'll also gather additional inspiration by everyone's reviews, as I feed on encouragement lol) Here's more Law and Luffy interaction then! Hope it's good enough despite how rushed this chapter is. Thank you very much for the review and hoping this story still entertains you!~**_

**Next Chapter: **_**Nearby Islands**_


	8. Chapter Seven : Nearby Islands

**A/N: For this chapter, we focus more on Ace's part of the story! But don't you worry your lovely minds, readers, for Sabo and Luffy will be back on the next two chapters. In the meantime, enjoy!**

**(Yes, again with an early update, but it's more of _because I want to_ than because I'm busy despite me being free from exams now.)**

**More notes found in the end of the chapter~**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**7**

**Nearby Islands**

* * *

"Not here."

"Definitely not here either."

"I checked the deck as well, but he's not there as well."

"Damn, that brat is a good hider."

"Or maybe he escaped?"

"But . . . the ocean is so BIG! He could get lost!"

Marco ignored his ship brothers in favor of focusing on making his way towards Whitebeard, who had a concerned face when he saw Marco's expression.

"It seems he's nowhere to be found on the ship, Pops."

Whitebeard nodded, then turn to his crew. He spoke in a loud and clear voice, catching everyone's attention.

"My children, it seems Ace might not be on this ship at all," everyone made sounds of agreement, since they were all tasked to find the little boy. "So what will happen right now is that you will all go back to your duties while I decide who we can send out in a search party to find Ace."

At that, everyone obediently followed his orders and went back to what they were doing before they realized the absence of a certain grumpy boy. Whitebeard was going to ask Marco to gather up few crewmembers he can suggest for the members of the search party, but Marco interrupted.

"Pops, if I may, yoi, will it be alright if I go scout alone?"

The big man raised an eyebrow at his first mate. "Alone, you say?" Marco nodded his head.

"Yes, Pops. I doubt Ace would want a crowd of people taking him back, yoi. If I go alone, I'll see to it that he's safe and brought back here so that we can make sure he won't be hurt."

With a nod, Whitebeard gave a gentle smile, "I trust that Ace will – indeed – be safe in your care."

Marco gave his father-captain a grin as he willed his Devil Fruit powers to allow blue fames to dance around his arms, slowly growing into huge wings. The fire continued spreading until he was in the form of a fiery blue phoenix. He let out a cry from his throat – some phoenix-y sounds as Thatch dubbed them to be – and soared up to the air and started on his search of the nearby islands.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

_The moment Ace fell from the roof and catching the attention of the pirates that were invading their island, things went from _terrible_ to _worse.

_ After his scene of falling from his hiding spot on the roof of Makino's bar and exposing himself to everyone, villager, and pirate alike, the captain immediately ordered his crew to take the boy and lock him in his ship. Upon hearing that, his brothers jumped off the roof and tried to fight off the pirates from taking their brother, but they too were then dragged to the ship._

_ As they tried to fight off their enemies, the captain took a good look at them._

_ "This one here," he pointed at Luffy whom surprised some pirates with his ability to stretch as he tried to fight back to be free from their grasps. "He's probably a Devil Fruit User. Not much of them in East Blue, which is a surprise – but they usually catch a better price than female slaves anyways, so that's something to be thankful for. The boy – yeah, Freckles there looks quite attractive, and a fighter judging from his strength. Would also fetch a good price, too. Heard there was some shichibukai in New World who would want fighters in their colosseum anyways."_

_ Ace gave his best glare to the man. He's _no_ toy._

_ "As for Blondie there . . . well, if my guess is right, he probably is some runaway noble there judging by how he dresses, despite the clothes looking a bit worn," he then gave a smirk as he saw Sabo snarl at the captain. "You should have disguised yourself better if you wanted to blend in well with them commoners, Blondie. I think all three of you would make _excellent_ slaves!"_

_ He and his brothers struggled to be free from their grasps while the villagers screamed to the captain to let go of the children. The captain smirked at all of them before following his crew to the ship._

_ As soon as the pirates tied up Ace, Sabo, and Luffy to the mast the captain turned to face the crowd gathering by the port as the ship slowly sailed away. _

_ "I would like to thank everyone for being so _generous_ to provide us supplies for our next destination. Also, we'll be taking these kids here as your payment as well. Since I'll be taking them, you may keep that woman. Pretty sure I'll fetch a better price for the three of them than that woman anyway."_

_ An uproar was heard from the shore from the villagers as the ship was starting to distance away from the island. Shouts and screaming were heard by all the pirates and the three brothers, but one shout in particular was what Ace heard before they got too far to hear the people of Dawn Island._

_ "Please! No! Please don't take the boys! Take me instead! Please!"_

_ Ace flinched and saw Sabo looking down with Luffy in between them, sobbing. Neither of the boys wanted an option of Makino taking their place at all. Even if Sabo and Ace didn't get to know Makino longer than Luffy did, she already made a place in their hearts as a second mother-figure – since Dadan would take first place for accepting rascals like them._

_ For a short moment, the boys had a small relief that they were taken instead of the kind, _wonderful _Makino – the very precious person who accepted them with no prejudice and ill judgment at all._

_ So as they sailed away, knowing that they probably won't be escaping soon – Ace knew Sabo was already trying his very best to think of an escape plan – Ace stared off to the rising sun in the distance._

_ This was the day of their terrible start._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Ace spat out the berries he thought were tasty, judging on their mesmerizing colors, but as soon as it made contact to his tongue he immediately experienced a really strong taste of sourness.

_Definitely not taking those berries,_ he thought as he dropped the rest of the berries from his hands to the ground below, then picked up the small sack by his feet where he carried some edible fruits in it.

He landed on the island an hour ago, and since he was on a mission to finding his brothers Ace wanted to see if he could collect some supplies for his journey for however long it takes to find Luffy and Sabo. Hopefully it'd only take a few days.

As he continued on his trek looking for more food – he was hoping he would catch a huge animal soon because he wanted some meat, since the animals on the island were so small for his liking – he later on stumbled upon the other side of the island. Upon closer look, he saw some wreckage on the shore, probably from a poor and unfortunate ship.

"My condolences," Ace bowed slightly to the area of the wreckage, both pitying any victim in the wreckage, as well as using Makino's lessons on manners to good use, even if there was no one to witness his actions – well, any person _alive_ anyway.

After that, he walked towards the wreckage, hoping to find some things to take with him in his journey.

Unfortunately, he found nothing of good use except for one bottle of medicine that he's not sure of its purpose, a dagger in its sheath, and lastly was a weird orange-colored cowboy hat. He picked all three of them up, eyeing the hat in interest.

_"Ace! Ace!"_ he heard his little brother's voice echoing in his mind as he recalled a memory. _"Sabo and I have hats! Can we get one for you too?"_

_"Why should I care?"_

_ "Aww!"_

_ "Come on, Ace. Just entertain Lu for now—"_

_ "Tch! Whatever . . ."_

Unconsciously, the corner of Ace's lips tugged up, recalling that small memory. He remembered how Luffy was excited as he looked around Grey Terminal for a hat that would fit Ace's appearance. After a whole day of searching, the two older boys had to follow a disheartened Luffy who was upset that they failed to find a hat for Ace. He and Sabo had to tell Luffy before they went to bed that they'll visit Makino and Mayor Woop Slap the next day to cheer him up, hoping that Makino would be free to make Luffy's favorite orange juice and several meat dishes to lift his spirits.

_It may have cheered him up that time, but it did make it hard for him to fall asleep with all that giddiness,_ he thought fondly of the certain rubber idiot who kept invading his mind every now and then, as well as the nerdy blonde. With that, he eyed the hat. In a slow motion, as if to treat it like a fragile flower, he placed it on his head. Using the medicine bottle as a mirror, he looked at his reflection on its smooth glass surface. The hat was a bit too big on his head, but he knows it'll probably be a perfect fit when he grows a bit older.

_It doesn't look that bad, right?_

This made him grin. He couldn't wait to show it to his brothers. Ace could imagine Sabo stifle his laughter as he watches Luffy whooping his fists to the air in glee as he celebrates.

Ace adjusted the hat when it started to slip a bit and covered his eyes. He bit the inside of his cheek in thought.

_Hope I grow big enough to fit this hat soon—_

It was at that moment when something orange caught the corner of his eyes. He turned his head to the object of his attention when he looked at the torn up sack that laid on the sand with a bunch of broken pieces of wood, the waves lapping gently on it.

Something was inside of the torn up sack.

Curious, he walked towards the sack, and when he was near enough he felt his eyes widen. He recognized the object immediately when he recalled the times Sabo showed pictures of things similar to it. The blonde found a book months ago in Grey Terminal, and showed it to Luffy and Ace so that if they ever find them, then the brothers would recognize them instantly . . .

It was a devil fruit.

_What the hell?_ Ace swore in his mind as he looked closer at the fruit, examining the fine details of it. _What's this doing here? And what are the chances of me finding a Devil Fruit – of all things – right here anyways?_

He glanced up to stare at the wreckage again, _Probably from the wreck then._

Examining the fruit again, he recalled memories of Sabo mentioning that Devil Fruits sell for a good price. With that much money, maybe he could find a better boat that's more suitable to survive until he can find his brothers.

_And maybe enough for the three of us to sail freely in,_ he added. _Of course, we'll split ways and sail independently once we reach seventeen of age._

So Ace moved his hand, about to tuck in the fruit safely in his bag to sell it in the nearest town he could find, and that's when a thought struck him then and there.

Why can't he just eat it?

Sure, if he consumes it, then he'll be rewarded with whatever powers the fruit offers with it, but then he'll be at a big disadvantage of never swimming ever again. EVER. So if Luffy ever falls into the sea, and Sabo's not around, then he won't be able to save him and watch with horror of his little brother drowning in the depths, helpless due to his Devil Fruit.

No, no, it is definitely not worth it. He won't sacrifice his advantage of swimming for that possibility.

_"I'm the eldest, I will protect them."_

He stopped breathing when he recalled that very memory.

Ace remembered that day – he _always_ remembered that day – of the day where he _swore_ that he'd protect his brothers . . .

And look where that led them to.

_Weak,_ he thought to himself. _I'm so, so, SO weak._

Why'd he have to be so weak?

He wanted to be strong!

Why couldn't he be strong?

He felt his eyes get slightly watery, his vision getting a bit blurry, but he bit his bottom lip and lifted his free hand to wipe away those _damn_ tears. Ace _refused_ to cry. _That_ will make him weak.

"I want to be strong," he murmured to himself. "But . . . But how can I be strong for my brothers if I'm just so _weak!_ Dammit!"

And that's when he looked down – his eyes staring down at the bright orange Devil Fruit that held the answer to his problems.

_Whoa, wait a second there,_ he shook his head and refused to look at the fruit in his hand. _Yeah, it will give me powers, but I'll end up sacrificing too much for one power!_

The consequences, sure enough, will indeed haunt him one day if he does consume the fruit, and he'll then live with that regret for the rest of his life. After all, he did swore that he will live a great life with no regrets at all, whatsoever. So sacrificing that much will probably not be that worth it. But . . .

An image of Luffy's and Sabo's smiling faces flashed in his mind, and Ace chewed lightly on his lip. He looked down at the fruit, suddenly feeling as if the fruit was getting heavier on his hand, maybe gaining weight from holding his possible complicated future of having powers with it.

That's when a decision was made in his mind.

With an audible nervous gulp in his attempt to wet his dry throat, he held the fruit closer to his mouth, and _no_ he won't admit his hand was shaking!

Well, eating the fruit might be the dumbest thing he's ever decided so far . . .

_But for my brothers, I'm willing to sacrifice even my life for their safety._

He then took a bite.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

It's been an hour since Marco decided to volunteer himself to go and find Ace, then soar up to the skies to begin his search, but so far the Phoenix Devil Fruit User could not find Ace anywhere.

He'd been checking the nearby islands, in hopes to find traces and evidences of a kid hiding there, but all he found were islands with no living beings, or islands with small villages but no kid that fit Ace's descriptions when Marco asked them.

Marco gave an exasperated sigh as he passed by yet another island that definitely had no animals or plants inhabiting it.

_He left so soon without saying anything,_ he thought. _Sure, he was doing well and near to full recovery, but he could have at least waited a bit more before we could join him on his search for his brothers._

Then again, Marco couldn't find it in his heart to blame the boy for his actions, despite how troublesome it had been ever since Ace left. He had to admit that he'd actually do the same if any of his siblings went missing, too.

Thinking about that then made him recall a small memory of what happened the night before, when he was on watch duty during that time when he saw Ace standing by the railing near the figurehead. It was in the middle of the night when he found the boy. During that moment, he thought of walking over to Ace to lead him back to the infirmary so that he could get his needed rest, but stopped and stayed silent since he heard Ace talking – more of _whispering_ – to himself as he stared at the horizon of where the clouds gently pass by the moon. Marco remembered what he said that night like how he memorized the names of all his ship siblings. (Yes, shockingly, he was able to memorize ALL their names.)

_"Sabo,"_ Marco recalled him say. _"How are you doing . . . are you doing alright, wherever you are right now?"_ Then a scoff followed after that, _"Well, of course you are. You're such a smartass most of the time, I'm pretty sure you'd know what to do if you were in danger right now."_

In his memory, Marco also remembered Ace having a troubled look after talking to this imaginary Sabo guy.

_"Luffy . . . dammit, you rubber idiot. You better be okay at wherever you are at right now."_

Shaking those memories away of a worried Ace from his head, Marco let out another sigh. He could definitely see how Ace was depressed with every passing second when none of his brothers are found yet. It actually hurts to see the kid sad, the boy wanting nothing but to reunite with them again.

_Don't worry, brat. We'll help you find your brothers,_ Marco promised silently in his mind. Now all he needed to do was find Ace—

He might have imagined it, but he thought he heard a scream from a distance to his northeast. That's when Marco focused his eyes on an island that he was nearing, and felt his eyes grow wide where the island was glowing with orange and yellow hues.

Fire.

"What the—"

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: And there we have it! Ace finally finds the Mera Mera no Mi! Up next is Sabo's chapter. Wonder what happens in his chapter…**

**(Sorry for a rushed chapter! Please don't kill me!)**

**Since now that finals is over for me, I want to catch up on making more chapters in advance, so expect the next chapter to be posted on the second week of December, or the third week of December. (But if I decide on an early update, then it might come on the first week of December.) I just want to make chapters in advance. So please be patient until then!**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**Guest: **_**Hello again RIA! You're welcome, and am glad you loved that previous chapter! Unfortunately, it will take a while for Sabo to finally realize he's actually trying to prevent himself from remembering his dear brothers. But who knows? Maybe he'll remember them in the second part/arc of the fic ;) Thank you for your patience for this fic of mine and thank you very much for the review!**_

**Maria5501: **_**Hi again! And yes, who wouldn't enjoy the fun interactions between Luffy and Law xD Indeed, Luffy is such a ray of sunshine (that eats a lot) to everyone's lives. A good example is Ace and Robin in the manga/anime. I'm aiming for Luffy and Law bonding while it's still the first arc, so look forward to that! And your suggestion about Luffy and the chest – damn, you're tempting me to use that idea, HAHA! It's definitely such an Oda style of writing if that happens. I love it! I'll consider it… ;) Thanks a great bunch for still sticking with this fic!**_

**VisitorNo.18: **_**Hi! Yeah, I think it's obvious enough that the Whitebeards will find Ace xD And your idea that he might land on an island with two girls he'll later befriend makes me think of either Nami and Nojiko or Amazon Lily, HAHA! Well, Law didn't consider about it, probably because he was busy thinking of other things on how to get rid of Luffy. (Preferably before Luffy becomes another "Corazon" to him, lol.) And yes, poor Sabo indeed :( I promise, he'll recognize Ace and Luffy soon! (Maybe in the second arc. But as for them all returning to Dawn… you'll see ;) *evil laughs, but then gets shot by an arrow*) D'aww, you don't need to force yourself to review every chapter! You may either review every few chapters, or just simply read and enjoy the story :3 Thanks so much for your review and hope you'll continue enjoying the story! **_

**Thanks for all the reviews and the love given to the story! Weeks ago, I had to go through something hard and dark in my life, all the while trying to just survive it all, so it had been so hard on me. But reading the reviews kinda made me feel better, and I'm thankful for all of you wonderful lovelies out there reading the story ^^ Thank you so so much, readers!**

**Next Chapter: **_**Anger on the Highest**_


	9. Chapter Eight : Anger on the Highest

**A/N: Am back! Barely made a few chapters in advance because someone put me on babysitting duty, even if I originally planned of dedicating most of my free time to make more chapters so sorry pLEASE FORGIVE ME AHHH—!**

**So, yeah, an early update for now since I am quite busy with keeping watch of one little troublemaker, and**** I rather an early update than a late one. Is that okay for you guys?**

**But anyways, now on to this chapter~**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**8**

**Anger on the Highest**

* * *

It's been a few days since they finally reached the Revolutionaries base, with Sabo needing time to heal. He received a short tour around some parts of the base, but not on every area since the medics demanded that he should avoid straining himself when checking around. At first, Sabo was disappointed that he'll be stuck in a room, confined on his bed until he's in top shape, but what motivated him to be patient until the day he's fully healed was when the man, Dragon, gave an offer to Sabo that he could train under him once he's ready to leave the room when the medics allow him to.

Sabo may not have known Dragon for so long, but he could tell – maybe "sense" was a better word – that Dragon was probably _strong_, so if a strong man offers to Sabo to teach their ways on becoming strong in fighting, then of course Sabo would definitely agree to that. Besides, Sabo didn't want to feel weak, so it's a _need_ for him to train to be stronger.

Now, days have passed and he's healed enough that the medics allowed him to leave his room. Sabo's healed, but the medics told him to not strain himself too much to avoid his healing process to reverse. So his first course of action once he's out was immediately to head over to where Dragon was, discussing about the schedule of the training.

"You will only start your training under me when you are deemed fully healed by our medics here," Dragon said, answering his question about the schedule on his training. "When training starts, I'll be checking to see whatever knowledge you have about fighting. We will then figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and then do what we can to overcome your weaknesses and improve greatly on your current strengths. Anymore questions?"

Sabo, not having anymore questions at the moment, shook his head, "No more. Thank you, sir."

Dragon nodded, "Then you're free to go. I hope to see you soon for training."

The young boy bowed slightly to the man, and turned back to walk towards the door. Though, before his hand could even reach the handle, he heard the man speak up again.

"By the way, before you leave, there is actually one question I'd like to ask."

Hand dropping to his side, Sabo turned around and looked questioningly at him.

"What is it, sir?"

The Revolutionary leader didn't immediately respond. He was silent for a while, leaving Sabo quite confused of whatever was going on in the man's mind. A minute later of silence, Dragon soundlessly got up from his seat and stood to face out the window behind him. With that position, Sabo won't be able to see his face.

"I'm fully aware of your lack of memories, so you may not be able to answer this question, but please do see if you can try remembering anyway."

"Yes, sir?"

Dragon briefly turned his head a bit to glance at Sabo from the corner of his eyes, but then went back to staring out the window a second later, not giving the opportunity for Sabo to read whatever expression that flashed to his face – then again, his face was always stoic, so maybe whatever expression Sabo thought he saw on Dragon's face was probably a delusion.

"Does the name Luffy sound familiar to you?"

Sabo thought he could hear a bell ring in his head upon hearing that name.

_Luffy?_ He thought to himself. _One of my "brothers" right?_

Now Sabo was curious, and maybe slightly wary of the man in front of him.

How'd Dragon know about the name Luffy? Was he related to him somehow? Does he know Luffy? This was strange . . .

Sabo opened his mouth, ready to ask Dragon a _million_ of questions – one of them was about how he knew about Luffy – but immediately closed his mouth. He'd rather not reveal information that the name Luffy rings a bell in his head. If Dragon knows about Sabo remembering enough to know Luffy was probably his brother, he might take him back to his parents – and that idea made him unconsciously shudder.

"No, sir," he finally answered. "I don't think so. Why, sir?"

He thought he heard Dragon sigh tiredly, "No reason. Thank you, you may go now."

With that, Sabo gave another bow even if the man didn't see him, and then he finally got out of the room, gently closing the door.

_I'm not going back to my family, no matter what,_ the thought crossed over his mind. _So, brain, don't you dare make me remember either of my parents or my brothers!_

"So? How was your talk with the Dragon guy?"

Sabo turned his head to see the boy – whom he still can't even remember his name! – standing near the door, leaning on the wall as he watched Sabo exit the room.

The blonde boy just kept staring silently at Lyle – or was it Mike? Or maybe Felix? Tyler? BAH! WHATEVER!

The silence continued with not one boy speaking up until, finally, Sabo quickly turned to the opposite direction of Victor and started walking away.

"What – wait! Sabo! Why are you leavi—"

"Bye, Oliver."

"Wait, what – MY NAME IS NOT OLIVER! MY NAME'S – WAIT A SECOND! DON'T LEAVE! _SABO!_ GET BACK HERE—"

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

"This better be worth my time," Garp exasperatedly sighed. "But because Makino made me promise to do this, might as well do it. Damn, I'm too soft."

The Vice Admiral grumbled to himself as he walks, alone, through the thick forest. He was on his Marine ship when he heard a report from one of his own that the ship of a _certain_ someone was seen by the shore of one the islands they were passing by. Hearing those news – and remembering his call from Makino an hour ago – he might as well go to the island and find this man – specifically, a _pirate._

Also, recalling the call with the woman, he remembered how shocked he was when he heard news from Makino about what happened to his three grandsons that he had left back in Dawn Island.

_Garp was having his alone time, eating crackers in his room in his ship, when suddenly his snail started ringing. He placed down the plate of his crackers first and then accepted the call from the snail._

_ It was Makino._

_ "G-Garp-san! Garp-san, I need your help! The b-boys – they're – I - !"_

_ "Makino, calm down," Garp spoke, worried about the woman's behavior. "I need you to take a deep breath first, then tell me what is going on. Something about the boys, right?"_

_ He watched the snail's attempt on following Makino's current expression on her face, the snail portraying Makino as she tried to follow his advice of taking in deep breaths to calm herself down. When the woman was no longer in the state of panic, she relayed her message more clearly than earlier._

_ "Garp-san, it was horrible! There were these pirates that came by Foosha Village earlier, and they forced everyone here to provide them with provisions for their next voyage. Unfortunately, Ace, Sabo, and Luffy were around that time and the pirates caught them. They took them, Garp-san! The captain said that he'll sell them as slaves!"_

_ Garp clenched his jaw, and he thought he heard his teeth grinding against each other in fury. _

_ His boys? Taken? How dare those pirates! The three of them are not even strong Marines just yet!_

_ "I-I'm so sorry, Garp-san. I should have fought back more to get the boys to safety," the woman's soft voice stopped all his angry thoughts immediately, making Garp's angry expression morph into one of his attempts on a gentle look._

_ "It's okay. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself," he watched as the snail nodded its head, imitating the woman's head movement. "Unfortunately, I am currently on my way to escort some Celestial Dragons to a certain party. It was an order from the higher ups that I will be the one to escort them. But know that I'll start on my own secret search for the boys once I am done escorting the Celestial Dragons to their event."_

_ "Can't you ask someone else to do it for you, Garp-san?" The woman sounding desperate. Garp shook his head._

_ "I can't. It's quite busy in the headquarters right now, and I'm the only one present to spare that enough time to watch over them nobles. And they're Celestial Dragons, so going against them will be tough to do."_

_ Makino looked like she was going to be upset again, so Garp quickly added, "But I might try calling my son. Maybe – just _maybe _– he will be able to help us and find the boys."_

_ Makino's eyes grew wide at that._

_ "Y-You mean Luffy's father? Will he be able to help us?"_

_ He bit his lower lip in worry, but quickly stopped when he looked back at Makino's eyes – well, at least an imitation of her eyes on the snail._

_ "Let's hope he'll be able to help."_

_ Makino nodded at that._

_ He was prepared to say his goodbyes to her when some rookie Marine – _who should be in the middle of _training_ up in deck with the rest! _– opened the door to the room, giving it a knock, even if that gesture was useless now that he already entered the room._

_ "Sir, the one on lookout right now reported that we just spotted out Red-Hair's ship docked on a nearby island."_

_ Garp gave a sigh._

_ "Can't you see I'm busy calling someone right now?"_

_ The rookie paled at that, realizing his mistake._

_ "S-Sorry, sir! I'll go now!"_

_ The marine left in a hurry to escape from any punishment Garp might give to the poor soul. Garp grumbled about their rudeness and grabbed for a cracker on the plate to munch on._

_ "Ah, speaking of Shanks," Makino voiced out after a short moment silence, "I think it's best to tell him about Luffy and his brothers as well. Maybe he could also help in finding Luffy, too."_

_ Garp nearly choked at that request._

_ "No way!"_

_ "Garp—"_

_ "There is NO way that I'm telling Red Hair about Luffy!"_

_ "Garp . . ."_

_ Makino's gentle but serious voice silenced Garp._

_ "He loves Luffy as much as you do, and that has been proven when he sacrificed his arm for Luffy's safety. It would be better if he knew of what happened to him, so _please_ do tell him. If not, I'll find a way to figure out how to contact him so that I could tell him myself. Though, I prefer you tell him now, since you're nearby anyway."_

_ "Ugh," was all he could say in response to the woman._

_ "Please?"_

And that was what led to the present situation for Garp – to find Shanks and break the news to him.

So he almost regretted his decision of following Makino's suggestion when he entered the heart of the forest on the island, hearing sounds not too far away from him – specifically, the sounds were like some man swearing with every known cuss word ever known.

Pushing asides some big leaves, drooping down from the short trees around him, he finally got to see the scene that presented him of something he never expected to see the strong pirate to ever have a problem with.

"BENN! HOW COULD YOU?! PUT ME THE FUCK DOWN THIS INSTANT!" Shanks, the captain of the feared Red-Hair Pirates, dangled upside down, one end of the rope tied around his ankle. His first mate of the crew, Benn, stood nearby, shaking at his head at his captain.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Both captain and first mate turned their heads to Garp's direction.

"Garp!" Shanks gave a grin. "Thank goodness! How's Luffy? You're not hurting him, right? By the way, could you help me down?"

The Vice Admiral ignored the man and raised an eyebrow to his first mate, hoping for a short but concise explanation of _what the hell_ is happening. Benn gave a tired sigh, and somehow Garp almost pities him.

"We docked here in hopes to find some things to add to our provisions. Our captain decided to get drunk and disappear from us, hiding in the forest. So I made a snare trap to lure him out—"

"WHAT THE FUCK, BENN! WHAT AM I? AN ANIMAL?!"

"—and it worked like a charm. One simple snare trap, and a bottle of some good sake, and our captain would fall for it without any problem at all."

Shanks stuck out his tongue at Benn, like the grown adult he is, before looking back at Garp again with a pleading look.

"Don't listen to him! Also, get me down – all of my blood is rushing to my head now . . ."

Garp groaned as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

_Patience, patience, patience . . . Do this for Makino. Do it for the boys, too. Just tell the IDIOT Red Hair about the news, leave the island, call Dragon about Luffy, and then head off to the Celestial Dragons . . ._

"Look," he started, gaining Benn and Shanks' attention. "I don't have enough time for this. I have work to do, and a call to make. So _please_ listen well to this because I won't be repeating my message for you again. Got that?"

"Wait, could you cut me down first—"

"Is it about _us_ needing to follow you to your ship, so that you could, 'in the name of justice', arrest us?" Benn asked, no anger behind those words except for curiosity and suspicion clear in his voice.

"Before anything else, could you just put me down—"

"No, I'm not bringing you to my ship," Garp answered. "I am not here to arrest you. Though I have news for you, as well as a request."

Benn raised an eyebrow at him, "A request, you say?"

Garp then grew somber.

"Yes, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think additional help from you will be _greatly_ appreciated. This is serious, and I am hoping you will listen to my request."

All of them grew silent, the two pirates understanding that there was definitely something wrong if Garp – a _Vice Admiral_ of the Marines – came to them for help, which the idea of a Marine coming to pirates for help was impossible. Then, again, Garp did that before when he made a short alliance with Roger, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise anymore.

Benn nodded his head in understanding, and Garp gave a relieved sigh, about to start explaining . . .

"Cool, cool, yeah, great. But you know what else would be good, too? TO CUT ME DOWN FROM HERE!"

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Sabo was in the cafeteria when he heard stories about the heartless acts the government did in the past.

There wasn't that many people in the cafeteria, so Sabo took that opportunity to have his food in peace, especially when he was successful in losing sight of Chris – or was it Ryan? Allan? Sabo made a mental note to ask for the boy's name again sometime, _if_ he feels like talking to him.

He sat on a table with no one else occupying the other seats, enjoying his peace and quiet as he thought through over some stuff in his mind while eating. He didn't pay attention to the other tables, but at one point the conversation from the table behind him caught his interest.

It was about some incident that happened in a place called Ohara long time ago.

"I swear, Marty," one of the guys in the table said to one of the other people sitting by their table. "The government are the stinkiest bastards that ever lived in this world!"

"Well, 'stinkiest' is not even a real word,"

"Shut up!" the guy scolded the person who corrected him. "Anyways, one good example was what happened in Ohara. Remember Ohara, guys?"

"Shit. Don't remind me. I was a kid when I heard about those news. Still scares me that the government would go _that_ far – they fucking destroyed a _whole_ island! No survivors, even. Just so that they can keep a secret. Those fucking bastards."

Sabo's eyes widened at that, nearly choking on the sandwich that he was currently munching on while listening to the conversation behind him.

_Destroyed?_ He thought. _What the hell. There are people, the _government_, who destroyed an island and killed all the people – and for what? To keep a secret? That's just going too far!_

The blonde took a bite from his sandwich when a question came up in his mind, _What kind of secret would make them go that far to prevent it being spread anyway?_

Before he could further dwell on that thought, the conversation on the other table continued.

"No survivors? Dude, you forgot that Nico Robin is a survivor, which is why she's being hunted down by the government."

"Oh right, I forgot about her," the guy mumbled. "Poor girl. To be a wanted criminal in a young age. Damn those Marines."

Hearing this made Sabo's frown deepen more.

_A kid? They made a kid a wanted criminal?_ Sabo was grateful that he joined the Revolutionary Army. He would want to see the government fall one day.

It was sickening to hear how everything's being controlled – people's lives and other things being the victims – by the government, with no power from the people to have a say on it. For that, Sabo has this feeling he hates – a sickening feeling he gets when he's controlled by others. He couldn't recall from when this feeling started, but he could make a small guess that it has to do with him in the past back when he still had his memories.

_"Sabo!"_

A kid's voice echoed in his head.

Sabo dropped his sandwich on the table and groaned as his hands held on his head. A strong headache got him to lean his head closer to the table.

_"Give Sabo back!"_

_ "Don't do it, Sabo!"_

_ What's happening? _Sabo questioned himself. _Are these . . . memories?_

"Hey, Sabo, right?"

Sabo flinched in surprise, disturbed from his thoughts, when he felt a hand resting on his shoulder. Like magic, the headache disappeared immediately. He looked up and saw the guy and his pals from the table behind him look at him. At first, he thought they found out he eavesdropped on their conversation and wanted to scold him for that action, but that thought was wiped out from his mind once he saw their kind smiles directed to him.

"Hey, hey, kid, you're the kiddo that Dragon saved, right? Sabo's the name, huh?"

Sabo bowed his head slightly, "Yes, sir."

"Well! And you decided to join us, yes?"

"Yes, sir."

"Cool! First, welcome to the group!"

The guy and his buddies started cheering for Sabo, making said boy feel self-conscious of how the few other people nearby stop what they're doing and turn their heads to the source of all the noise. After a good minute of embarrassing Sabo, the guy continued.

"Secondly, how's it so far? Has it been comfortable? Found any friends yet?" But the guy didn't give Sabo enough time to answer those questions – _So what's the point of asking those questions then?_ Sabo thought – before he saw movement nearby their table. All of them looked up to see Dragon talking to someone. "Boss! Hiya, Boss!"

Dragon then stopped talking to look at their table, nodding in their direction, eyes momentarily looking at Sabo for a second before focusing back on the guy who spoke.

"Yes?"

"Sir, I heard you were going to check on something – a party wherein some Celestial Dragons are attending it, right?"

Dragon raised an eyebrow at this, but nodded anyway.

"Yes. May I ask of why you're questioning me about that?"

The guy grinned as he moved from his seat so that he could be near Sabo, placing an arm around his small shoulders, "Well, all of us here hate the Celestial Dragons out there, and since kiddo here is new, might as well give him front row tickets to watch, with his own eyes, what makes a Celestial Dragon terrible, right?"

With a frown, the person who was talking to Dragon earlier spoke up.

"Wouldn't it be dangerous to bring the kid with us, sir? Maybe next time would be fine."

At first, Sabo would have agreed with the person that he could check next time, but he would be lying if he claimed that he was not curious of what the Celestial Dragons were like. Sure, he did hear stories, but he wanted to see it in person, to finally judge whether they're indeed inhuman or not.

"Dragon, sir," Sabo quickly spoke up before anyone would say anything else. "If it is not too much to ask, I'd like to come with you, then. I'd like to see, with my own eyes, what they're like and if what everyone says about them are true."

It was silent for a few minutes, with everyone looking at Dragon as they waited for his decision. The Revolutionary leader said nothing as he contemplated, but later when he looked back at Sabo, he gave a slight nod to his head.

"Alright. We'll just be observing and gathering information from afar anyway. But I must tell you in advance that you must stick with me or any other members of the group to avoid separation. Got it?" The blonde gave a small smile and nodded his head in affirmation, so Dragon continued. "We'll be leaving tonight when the sun is halfway down. I suggest you change to appropriate clothes now and see if you can get yourself an available cloak."

With that, Dragon and the person with him turned to walk away.

Sabo smiled to himself as the thought of going out – even if it's for a short while – made him excited. Staying in the base during his recovery for the past days was a boring experience and gave him a slight feeling of claustrophobia, so the news about Dragon allowing him to go out with them for a while would give him a bit of freedom from this place. With that realization, he made a mental note that he probably was the kind who loved to move around big spaces.

_I wonder how the evening will go . . ._

"Sabo? Sabo! So _that's_ where you've been, huh?!"

_Crap, it's that kid again._

So he ran.

"SABO!"

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: Not much for this chapter except to further explain and show things about Sabo's part here. (And for me to drop some hints for some stuff in the future of course.) And since several of you guys seem to enjoy Luffy/Law's POVs, get ready for next chapter!**

**Sorry for Garp's part of the story, as well with the rest of the parts of the chapter! It sounds rushed because, indeed, it was made in a rush! Hope you still enjoyed the chapter though!**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**ChunkyFunkyMunky: **_**Well, not all OCs are that bad, and some may do need some improvement on being used in a story, but there's always hope that some stories could have OCs that can be portrayed well ^^ There probably are some out there that are good enough! But yeah, I designed this story so that readers of different opinions on OCs may read with comfort, instead of cringing when reading the story. Hope I was successful in making the story readable for you! Thanks so much for the review!**_

**RIAEVANS: **_**Oh! So you finally got a username? Congrats, RIA! :D I'm glad you found Marco awesome! Marco is such a cool character! Who wouldn't like him? Thank Oda for Marco! Aww, it's okay! Ace will be alright… maybe… (*cue another evil laughter but gets hit by a sword this time*) Naww, I'm not that great of a writer, but I do hope you're still enjoying the story! Thank you very much for always reviewing!**_

**Maria5501: **_**Hello again to you too! :D Yes, Ace did, since it's to prepare him for future chapters of course ;) Yes, Marco indeed loves the kid. I've always found Marco as a great big brother to Ace or something – though, yeah, that's kinda true since as WB pirates they're sort of brothers. And yes! Look forward to Luffy~ your idea was so hilarious I couldn't resist xD I hope you'll look forward for it! D'aww, thank you for your loyalty as always! And I greatly thank you for the review!**_

**H3llion: **_**Yes, I think a lot of us agree to pity Law, that precious dark cinnamon roll! Pfft, yes Luffy might get annoying if he will not find any treasure, HAHA! But at least if that does happen, it will be fun to see Luffy annoy Law about it right? (…this makes me sound like a sadist xD) Thanks a bunch for the review!**_

**This story has reached 100+ follows?! You guys are AMAZING! I never expected I'd ever reach that much for one of my fanfics before… YOU DESERVE LOVE GUYS! For that, I'll see if it's possible to post on December 24 or 25. Consider it both as my Christmas gift for all of you who are reading this story, as well as a reward for making this story reach 100+ follows! *sends hearts to you all!***

**Next Chapter: **_**Bad Roasted Chicken**_


	10. Chapter Nine : Bad Roasted Chicken

**A/N: Do you guys love the chapter title? I know that I like it! HAHA! (Sorry, I lack sleep, so you all have to witness my sanity slowly slipping away from me…)**

**Also, MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here's my Christmas gift to you all! (even if the theme isn't even anything related to Christmas…) And because this is a gift, I made this chapter 4K+ words instead of the usual 3K+ words – excluding author's notes of course. (MY FINGERS HURT FROM ALL THE TYPING!)**

**Please enjoy and tell me what you think! ^^**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own One Piece!**

* * *

**9**

**Bad Roasted Chicken**

* * *

"—Heads all a-brr-brr, buncha fools!"

It's been a while since Law told Luffy about the treasure of the island – something about some _mysterious_ and cool treasure chest that should be hiding somewhere in the middle of the lightning thingy forest. _Awesome!_

Because Luffy loves adventures, of course his immediate reaction after listening to Law was to sprint immediately to the forest, hyped up for finding that treasure.

So time has passed and the sun just started to peek out from the horizon, painting the sky with light pink to blend in with the night blue. It was during this time that Luffy thinks he reached the "heart of the forest" as his fluffy-hat friend called it.

"Hurray!" The Strawhat boy jumped up and down with glee. "Treasure! Treasure! YAY!"

That moment, he watched a flash of lightning strike a nearby tree, which then the lightning started connecting to the tree next to it, and then to the tree next to that, too. The lightning traveled from one tree to another, and took only a few seconds for it to finally strike Luffy.

The lightning shocked Luffy, but the boy appeared unaffected and just held a grin as a laugh escaped his lips, "Shishishi! Just like what Sabo said!"

He looked up and watched other trees being hit by lightning, and whenever the trees get struck, the leaves glow bright with light. Luffy's eyes lit up with wonder as he watched the spectacle, not even minding he was getting hit by lightning several times as well.

"WHOOOOA! Mystery trees! What did Torao call them again? Cream Duck Trees?" That made his stomach growl. "Ah, they sound tasty . . . but they don't look tasty . . . Oh, wait, what was I doing again?"

Of course, it was at this moment he then recalls why he was in that place in the first place. So when he finally remembered his original goal for coming to that area, he slammed his fist into an open hand.

"Right! Time to find treasure. Shishishi!"

So he started looking around the place, in hopes that he could find the treasure soon.

_Just wait, Torao!_ He thought happily. _I'll get the treasure quickly!_

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

Of course as soon as he thought that he could be finally be in peace after he sent Luffy up to the forest, something happens that made Law lose his chance to sleep.

Dammit.

When he finally prepared his makeshift bed to sleep his hours away until the sun is up, he then notices a Conductor Lizard making itself comfortable on his bed. It snored peacefully, glowing a bit with yellow light. The animals on the island glow just like the trees when they get struck by lightning. The more recent they're struck, the brighter they are, but they dim slowly as time passes by. So looking at the lizard, it probably was outside when Law brought Luffy out, and settled in the cave while they were gone.

With a groan, he spoke out in a loud voice, "Get lost!"

The lizard jumped high in surprise, and to avoid its fall it landed on Law's head, holding tightly on his hat.

"Hey! Get off!"

He tried to swat it away, but it was fast enough to jump off his head and scamper away to the depths of the cave, but Law watched in horror as the lizard carried _his_ hat in its mouth. That damn lizard stole his hat!

"Wait – GET BACK HERE!"

Unfortunately for Law, the lizard was too fast and now was nowhere to be seen and was somewhere in the darkness of the cave . . .

"Damn Lizard," Law swore, knowing that he won't be sleeping anytime soon. Quickly, he ran out of the cave to find the nearest tree where the branches were low enough for him to reach. He broke off a branch with so much leaves still attached to it, glowing bright enough that Law could guess that _that_ very tree got hit by lightning probably just a few minutes ago. So, with the branch of glowing leaves in hand, he ran back in the cave and started his search for the pesky lizard.

_First was Luffy, and now this,_ he thought to himself. _Just give me a break already!_

As he ran further into the cave, he then noticed on the cave walls that there were drawings on them. He slowed down his pace and took a good look at the walls. From what it looks like, it was some crude drawing of what appears to be the whole island itself.

_Probably made by someone who came here long time ago._

He brought the branch nearer to the drawing, and he could see that whoever made the drawing even made a simple doodle of this very cave, located at the southwest area of the island. What Law found odd about the doodle was that the cave was encircled with three arrows drawn, pointing at said cave. There was a message written beside it, but whatever was the message was crossed out already, making it hard for Law to guess what was written.

Now ignoring the cave doodle, he looked at the northeast of the island and saw what seems to be a drawing of the Conductor Forest. After a minute of examining it, he noticed what appears to be a box drawn at the center of the forest, with a drawing that looked like some cross-looking thing drawn above the box. The left and right arms of the cross, though, looked like it grew feathers under said arms.

He shook his head. Law couldn't understand what that was supposed to be, but has no time to think about it since he has something else to do – that's to capture the lizard and get back his hat. Besides, judging the brightness of the light from the leaves, he made a rough guess that he has half an hour before the leaves grow dim.

Leaving the drawing behind, he ran off to go back to his search for the lizard. But as he ran, the image of the cross-thing doodle kept coming back to his mind. It was a weird drawing, especially when it looked like as if there was beak on the top part of the cross.

_Was that the person's way on drawing a bird?_

Law rolled his eyes.

_Must be a terrible artist to draw a bird like that._

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

It took a while, but after what felt like minutes roaming around in hopes of stumbling upon any chest he can find, he really did stumble upon a chest.

When Luffy's eyes landed on the very thing he was searching for, both his eyes and smile grew wide.

"HURRAY! TREASURE!" Luffy did his little victory dance around it. "Torao was right! Treasure! Thank you, Torao!"

So after a few minutes of celebrating, he stopped and stood in front of the chest, eyes examining it.

It was a small thing, about the size of a shoebox, painted red with gold designs that look like as if it was dancing around in swirls. Though the chest looked pretty, it must have been left untouched for so long since it collected dust and some running plants started growing all over it.

Without any further ado, Luffy picked up the dusty chest and held it to his chest.

"Time to head back to Torao!"

The boy turned around, only taking one step, when it was at that very moment where he heard movement coming from his left. He moved his head to face the direction of where the sounds were coming from, and found himself staring back at a huge bird-like creature with the height that's the same with the highest tree in the forest.

"Whoaaa!" Luffy craned up his head to look up at the tall bird towering over him.

The bird had such beautiful feathers with a color that Luffy could only describe it as a light blonde color that looked silvery white under what's left of the remaining moonlight – but he could also guess that when the sun fully rises soon, it would be a beautiful color once under the daylight. Its tail feathers, unlike its light-colored body feathers, glowed – _literally _glowed! – with gold light which slowly turns red the nearer it reaches the tips. The creature was the most _gorgeous_ animal Luffy has so far encountered on the island, but what made the small boy have a twinkle in his eyes looking at it was when he watched the bird's feathers glow even brighter when one lone lightning bolt struck the bird, not even giving any signs of being affected by the lightning. The creature was so like the _mystery trees_ around the forest, but Luffy deemed the mystery bird as the best!

Though after watching the bird get struck by the lightning, Luffy then thought of something about it, which then made him gape his mouth wide open as drool escaped his lips. His stomach chose that perfect opportunity to growl.

"YAY! ROASTED CHICKEN!" He jumped up and down, his hand that's not holding the chest pumping in the air. "ROASTED CHICKEN! ROASTED CHICKEN! I WANT SOME ROASTED CHICKEN!"

The bird looked at the boy, as if to say _what the hell,_ before lifting its head up in to the sky and give a loud screech, echoing all throughout the forest as it stretched its wide wings. Luffy brought up his hands to his ears, trying to block out the loud noise. Once the bird stopped its screeching, Luffy grumbled and frowned at it.

"Neh, you're one loud chicken."

If a bird can look pissed, then the creature _definitely_ looked like it.

With one quick motion, the bird stretched its long neck and was aiming its sharp beak towards Luffy's direction.

"Whoa!" Luffy immediately jumped up high, narrowly missing the attack. He then landed on the creature's head and started running along its back, jumping off to the ground once he reached the other end of the bird.

Once he landed on the ground, he prepared himself by making a stance. The bird recovered and now turned around, squawking in anger at the boy.

"Okay, birdie!" Luffy bellowed with a loud voice. "Fear my AWESOME Pistol Punch!"

The bird gave another squawk, also ready to attack.

Luffy started swinging his free arm around in a fast, circular motion. A grin spread wide on his face.

_"Gomu Gomu no,"_ he then sent his fist flying towards the bird. _"PISTOL!"_

Giving a small squawk of surprise, the bird looked ready to dodge the sudden attack, but found out that it didn't need to since the fist _entirely_ missed its target and flew past the bird.

"No!" Luffy cried out. "I missed!"

While his fist continued soaring away, the bird took this chance to attack the little boy while the kid can't do anything. So it gave another ear-splitting squawk and aimed for its sharp beak towards him. Luffy watched in horror as the bird was about to pierce him with its massive beak, when his fist _finally_ hit something. He felt his still clenched fist ricocheting probably a branch, then started wrapping around another nearby branch from the motion – and since his arm was still stretched, he then felt his body start being pulled by that direction of where his tied arm was, fortunately missing the bird's attack and avoiding his death.

"WAAAAH!" He screamed, making sure to hug the box in his other arm tightly to prevent dropping it. His surroundings blurred past him as he went soaring through the forest until he finally slammed to the branch with an _OOF!_

Luffy groaned in pain, dangling from the branch like a Christmas ornament, "Ow . . . that hurts . . ."

He looked up to look at the state of how tightly tied his arm was to the tree. Luffy heard the bird heading towards him, so he started trying to untie his arm from the branch. Unfortunately, it's too tangled for him to figure out how to untie it, and he knows the bird will reach him by the time he untangles the complicated knot.

Hearing how the bird was getting near, he started tugging at his arm desperately.

"Come on," he grunted as he did another tug. "Come on!"

He still could not free himself.

"Torao!" The boy called out to the forest in a loud voice, hoping his friend could hear him and start helping him. "Torao! Help me!"

But no boy came – except for the bird that came through the trees and was speeding towards him.

Luffy screamed.

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

"Damn that lizard," Law muttered out, now exiting the cave with his hat. When Law got back his hat from the annoying lizard and then started sprinting his way back, the leaves were starting to dim and only ran out of its stored light once he reached the opening of the cave. If he took longer than necessary, then he could have gotten lost in the dark.

The teen looked up to the sky, and judging how there's a bit more of the sun's rays in the sky than before, the sun should be up high and shining brightly its light on the world in an hour. Law internally groaned, knowing that he won't have time to sleep, so he started blaming Luffy for this.

Thinking about Luffy, he started wondering how the brat was doing. Whether or not he was dead from spending his time in the lightning storm.

_You killed him._

His eyebrows pressed together in irritation. Of course his brain decided then and there to try making him feel guilty.

_Shut up,_ he replied back to his mind. _He was annoying anyway._

_ He is your friend._

Law scoffs, _Luffy's just deciding on things without asking for my consent. There's no need to think about him._

_He cared for you._

At that, Law grew quiet, a sudden prick of pain somewhere in his chest appeared. Then that ache intensified until it was something Law could not just simply ignore anymore.

Before his time with Doflamingo, he knew the feeling of how it was like for loved ones to be taken away from him. Since then, he knew what it felt like to be alone. After that, he joined the twisted Shichibukai's group and found Rosinante that way. He then learned the feeling of someone loving him once again. But Life also wanted to remind him what it _feels_ like to be alone. So, once more, Rosinante was taken away from him like what happened to his parents. Now, learning that finding more people to keep in his heart creates more hurt for Law, so he tried his best to not let it happen again.

Then here came Luffy.

The kid did not even flinch when Law threatened him. He was determined to not let Luffy break his barriers that he desperately placed up right after Corazon's death. Despite his best attempts, Law now can sense the cracks the little brat started to make on his walls. It's only a matter of time before it all tumbles down, and the inevitable hurt that will come in the future like what happened with his family and Corazon.

He had to _erase_ the problem quickly.

Now that the nuisance was taken away from the equation, he can now easily focus on other things – like plans that are currently being thought through in his mind, so that one day he can put them all in to motion, hoping the end result will be the downfall of Doflamingo, as well as everything the bastard worked hard on.

Though he was satisfied with the absence of one annoying little brat, why . . . why doesn't he feel completely satisfied?

Law groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've gone soft," he told himself. "If this continues, you won't be able to survive on this world."

That's right. He has work to do. He does not have time to reflect on his decision of getting rid of the Strawhat boy. He _has_ to move on.

With that decided, he was about to go through his things so that he can prepare for the day and maybe find breakfast, but stopped whatever he was doing when he heard something. Following the direction of where the source came from, he turned his head to the forest – the very forest he sent Luffy to find the nonexistent treasure.

"What the hell—"

"AAAAAAHH!"

He didn't notice it before, but there seem to be a slight glow coming from whatever was hidden in the thick forest of the Conductor Trees, but when the loud scream echoed and reached Law's ears, something burst through those trees, along with the source of all that light – which was a huge bird that glowed as bright as the sun, as if the sun itself took form of a bird and now is down here on earth, looking _mightily_ pissed as it chased a small figure that was running towards him—

_Wait a minute,_ Law squinted his eyes at the small figure again and looked closer. _Isn't that—_

"OI! TORAO!" Luffy waved his hands in the air, waving happily at him while running away from the big bird behind him. "GOOOOOOOD MOOOOORNING!"

Of course. Yes. Made sense that Luffy was the cause of all this.

"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK, LUFFY-YA?!" He exclaimed, eyes growing wide. Also, he felt that his sanity was slowly escaping from him already.

"Oh, by the way! Roasted Chicken is chasing after me! Help me!"

"NO FUCKING SHIT!"

He felt frustration bubbling beneath his skin as he heard Luffy have the guts to laugh. Not wasting any other second, he quickly grabbed his _Nodachi_ resting against the boulder near him. With the sword now in his hand, he started sprinting towards the thick area of trees located opposite of the forest where the bird came from.

"TORAO! WAIT FOR ME!"

_Fuck!_ He mentally swore, "DON'T FOLLOW ME!"

Law zipped through the thicket of trees, determined to use the advantage of environment to lose the bird and escape. He jumped over bushes, leapt over boulders, and ducked over low branches of trees, already experienced in maneuvering his way through the forest after his time on this island. It took a while, but after a while of running and not even resting for one second, he found a large boulder that's three times his height. He quickly ran to hide behind it, breathing heavily from exhaustion.

His head peeked a bit from behind the rock, checking if there were any signs if the bird was nearby, also trying to listen closely for sounds, too. So far, it seemed to Law he might have lost the bird. With a victory smirk, he sighed in relief.

"Is Roasted Chicken there?"

Law never screams – and he would like to keep it that way, but he also does not want to admit to himself that some small sound escaped his lips when he looked around and saw Luffy was there. He wondered how such a loud brat could be able to sneak up to him as quiet as a cat.

"What the – when did you get here?"

Luffy tilted his head a bit when he gave Law a questioning look, making the teen feel as if the idiot boy himself was asking him if Law was the idiot here instead. Yeah, that'd be ironic since the real idiot here was the small boy.

"Well, duh, I followed you here. Also, I'm hungry. Can we catch the bird quickly? It's breakfast time!"

Law shook his head, "Luffy-ya, this is NOT the time to feel hungry when BOTH our lives are in danger of being eaten."

"But, Torao! I'm hungry! 'Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,' as Sabo once said!"

The teen groaned.

Patience . . . Patience . . . What was patience again?

That moment, he then felt Luffy tugging at his free hand.

"By the way, Torao, I found the treasure you mentioned!" Luffy then held up a small treasure chest to him, which he was surprised since the story about a chest in Conductor Forest was definitely made up by him. Before he could think about _how the hell_ the Strawhat boy got a treasure chest from the forest, Luffy spoke up again. "Of course Torao is right. Torao is my friend! For that, I can ALWAYS trust Torao! Shishishi!"

_Friend . . ._

Law shook his head.

No, he can't have a _friend._

"Okay, Torao, let's go catch that bird—"

"Luffy-ya."

Luffy looked up to see him with an unreadable expression, eyes also shadowed by his hat, and all the little boy did was tilt his head again to him, wondering what was wrong with Law. Luffy then asked, "Neh, what's wrong, Torao?"

Law dipped his head down a bit lower, not wanting his eyes to meet Luffy's wide ones – so trusting eyes, Law hates that it's directed to him since he had been harsh to the boy, but at the same time . . . No. He can't have a soft spot for Luffy right now._ Never._

_ I can never care for him._

"Luffy-ya . . . you shouldn't be so trusting to me." Wanting to see how Luffy would handle the news, he chose that moment to lift up his head. He watched Luffy raise an eyebrow at him, still confused of what was he trying to tell him, so he continued. "The treasure chest in Conductor Forest . . . I lied about that."

The little boy was silent for a good ten seconds before his eyes grew wider than before, shock written all over his face.

"EH?! Torao lied?! But why was there a treasure chest then?"

The teen gave a tired sigh, "For that, I was not aware that there really was a treasure chest, so I'm as confused as you are. But it does not change the fact that I lied to you."

Luffy stared at Law, still surprised by the revelation, but he shook his head to get over his shock in favor of facing Law again.

"It does not change anything. I trust Torao, and Torao is my best friend, and you will join my crew someday!"

_Trust . . . friend . . . ?_

Can he . . . have friends again?

Then he remembered blood – he remembered memories of so much fire, and the smell of burning flesh, as well as his silent oath of closing himself off.

He couldn't get weak now when he came this far.

The next thing he knew, Law then felt anger and frustration boil underneath his skin, and he both understood and didn't understand of why he felt angry at that very moment.

"But . . . I made that story up because I wanted to _kill_ you! So you're just going to forgive and forget what I just did?! Are you just so fucking stupid?! I tried to _kill_ you!"

"Eh? Torao tried to kill me?"

"YES!" Law snapped, no longer feeling patient handling Luffy anymore. "Why would you want to continue to trust someone who just attempted to kill you? Why can't you just hate me?! You shouldn't be so trusting, dammit!"

"Well, Ace did that before, too," Luffy said. "He kept trying to hurt me, but that was in the past and now we're brothers! So Torao may be bad right now, but I still want to be Torao's friend in the end."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT, LUFFY-YA!" Luffy flinched from Law's loud voice. "I tried _killing_ you because I don't _like_ you! I _hate_ you! I _despise_ you! And you just _have_ to keep bugging me to be friends with you – just STOP it! I don't need friends when all you gain from it is hurt in the end! So just _leave me_ – _the fuck_ – _ALONE!"_

Law stopped for a while, heaving heavily as he watched Luffy look at him with what seemed to be hurt in his eyes . . .

Wait, _hurt?_ Did he go too far? He just wanted to tell Luffy he didn't want to be his friend.

But why didn't he want Luffy as his friend? Was there something wrong with having friends? What's wrong with him?

Maybe he should stop scolding such nonsense to the boy—

_No! No turning back now!_ He mentally shouted the declaration in his head. But looking at Luffy's expression . . . did he really mean all that? Since Luffy seemed to like him, and reminded him a bit like Corazon.

_"Hey, Law, I love you!"_

A memory of Corazon's bleeding body on freshly fallen snow flashed in his mind's eye.

"Torao," Luffy said softly to him, trying to gain back his attention while Law struggled with his memories and thoughts.

"_I like Torao. I want Torao to be my friend!"_

This time, a mental image of Luffy lying dead on the ground came into his mind.

_No,_ Law demanded in his head. _Please, no more deaths!_

"LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE, LUFFY-YA!"

Just at that moment, Law then heard a loud squawk that tore through the air, reminding him of the current danger the both of them forgot to focus on currently. He was going to whisper to Luffy to remain silent, but then they saw a quick movement soaring through the air above them. It all happened so fast and it didn't give them enough time to process in their minds of what just happened, but what they do know was that the bird was now standing in front of them, towering over the duo with what looked like a pissed off look.

_Oh shit._

With one hand making sure that Luffy stays behind him, he raised his other hand to make the gesture of two fingers pointing outward along with the thumb.

_"Room!"_

Like the last time he used it, the blue half-sphere was too small to fit in the huge bird in it, but its height was enough for it to reach the top of the rock behind them. Law mentally reminded himself that he should try training to improve his power moves sometime – preferably when there's no big creature trying to kill them.

The huge bird – which Law mentally deemed as the Conductor Bird of the island – raised its wings up in the air, trying to look intimidating and larger than it currently was, before its head shot through to their direction, aiming its beak to pierce them.

Timing it right, he used his powers to teleport him and Luffy on top of the boulder just as the bird's beak pierced through the great rock, breaking it into pieces. With the giant rock now broken, Law and Luffy fell to the ground with screams. Fortunately for Luffy, he was rubber and landing on the broken pieces of the rock did not affect him too much. _Unfortunately_ for Law, he was _not_ Luffy, so he moaned in pain and rubbed his bottom, though he was still a bit grateful he didn't land on the really sharp pieces.

From behind him, he heard the bird gave a squawk, and he only had enough time to turn around and raise up his sword for protection from its next attack. The bird quickly shot its head to him, but instead of piercing him like he guessed it to do, the creature instead disarmed him by grabbing the sword from his hand, holding it tight in its beak.

"Hey!" Law tried to get back his _Nodachi_ but the bird hurriedly tossed his weapon to an area away from him, landing near Luffy's feet though. He was going to leap towards his weapon to get it back in his hands again, but everything happened so fast he didn't understood what just occurred to him – the next thing he knew was getting hit on his head so hard he felt stars flash in his eyes, and the bird swiftly grabbed Law in its huge talons and started flying up into the air.

"TORAO!"

He struggled, trying his very best to fight his way out of the bird's grasps, but it was no use and he was getting too high in the air. If he escaped now, he would just fall and hurt himself. Not only that, but he felt his strength slipping away as he slowly saw his vision turn black, and he knew that he won't be awake for long now.

"Dammit," He cursed under his breath as he watched the bird started carrying him to some direction that he assumed must be its nest, or something. So he continued struggling lightly, fighting to stay awake as well, even when he saw Luffy in the distance grabbing his _Nodachi_ and then start chasing him.

"TORAO! LET GO OF HIM, CHICKEN! TORAOOO!"

The little boy continued running after the bird, but Law watched as the distance between them grew and grew until Luffy can't be seen in the sea of Conductor Trees, the sun shining its early morning rays at them. That moment, Law finally closed his eyes as he could not fight to stay awake anymore.

"TORAOOO!"

* * *

**Return to Dawn**

* * *

**A/N: And there we have it! Y-You're not going to hunt me down for ending the chapter like this, r-right? H-HAHA! But hey! It's a long chapter, so you won't get mad at me, right? Right?**

**Sounds a bit rushed again because I finished typing the chapter just yesterday since I was busy helping my parents with a lot of stuff. Oh, and babysitting. And it was just quickly proof-read and edited in a rush as well… so sorry for mistakes and stuff! Please forgive me!**

**Anyways, I'm excited! The first Arc is almost to its end, AND I think I now have an idea what route I want this story to have… maybe.**

**The number of arcs I planned out so far are three arcs for the story, so you could see why I'm excited to finish this arc. Anyhoo, get ready for the next chapter! The next update will be posted around the last week of January maybe! I need to again prep more chapters in advance again.**

**REPLIES TO REVIEWS**

**RIAEVANS: **_**Hello again, RIA! D'aww, missed you too ^^ Thanks! And I'm glad you liked Sabo as well. Also, good job on noticing something about how Sabo is avoiding the kid! Was wondering when someone will ever start asking about that. Unfortunately, I can't answer that and readers will have to try guessing until it'll be revealed sometime in the future ;) D'aww, yes, real life matters, but I'll still find a bit of time to write this story for you guys to enjoy! Also, giving deadlines to my updates gives a bit of the needed pressure to squeeze in some time to make updates, HAHA! I thank you dearly for the wonderful review ^^**_

**silver . rayn123: **_**Thank you! I was worried if this story wasn't **_**that**_** interesting, so your words made me happy ^^ As for whether or not Law would get sad if Luffy starts searching for his brothers… well, asides from Law having a side of him that'll probably say "FINALLY! Peace at last!" I believe there might be a side that will miss that annoying ball of sunshine, but I guess you'll just have to continue reading and see whether he'll miss Luffy or not ;) Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks GREATLY for the review! :D **_

**Once again, Merry Christmas, guys! Thanks, **_**again**_**, for making this story reach 100+ follows! *ugly crying***

**Next Chapter: **_**Surrounded by Fire**_


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